FanShot

Michael Rand is blogging the alternate universe version of this season.

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LOVE, RUBIO DEVELOPING AMAZING CHEMISTRY ON AND OFF THE COURT It was a simple drill, really -- a two-on-two scrimmage at the end of practice designed to see which of the fatigued Timberwolves players were still playing at a high level. One one team: Luke Ridnour and Darko Milicic. On the other: The Future. Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love, two precocious players on an already young team, had the ball. Next basket would win. Rubio took a slow dribble right as Love -- using a newfound quickness he attributes to a summer workout regimen that shed 20 pounds -- made a quick dash to screen Ridnour. Rubio saw it coming, as has been the case often with these two early on. He crossed over his dribble to use the screen, drove hard to the hoop and made Milicic commit to him. Love cut hard to the hole, not knowing exactly to expect but knowing he should always keep his hands and head up. Rubio got Milicic in the air and flipped the ball to Love, who finished with a two-handed slam as Ridnour watched helplessly. Ballgame. And a sight the Wolves hope to see often this season. "It's amazing," Love said. "I've never seen anybody like Ricky, with his vision. It's like we both already know exactly what the other one is going to do on the court. This could be really special."