Tim's Game Preview: Game 27, Dallas Mavericks
by TimAllen on Feb 10, 2012 4:04 PM CST
in Tim's Previews
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Kevin Love has stopped hanging out in Uptown and is back playing basketball tonight against the Dallas Mavericks.
Minnesota Timberwolves (13-13) vs. Dallas Mavericks (15-11) at Target Center
On Wednesday, a few hours before the Wolves were set to play the Memphis Grizzlies, Kevin Love decided to give away autographed gear to some fans. Unable to join the team in Tennessee due to his two-game suspension for repeatedly kicking Luis Scola in the face, Love tweeted that he would meet fans on the corner of Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street in Uptown Minneapolis. Love showed up to a group of fans and handed out jerseys, shirts and other autographed merchandise.
It was a nice gesture that was a fun way for him to connect to some fans in the Twin Cities.
Tonight, Love will rejoin the team and take on the Dallas Mavericks for the third time this season. The Wolves have won the first two and can sweep the series with a victory tonight.
The Lion is back in his cage tonight, while the Unicorn will look to take out his revenge on the NBA for being snubbed by the Western Conference coaches.
Projected Starters
C: Nikola Pekovic vs. Brendan Haywood
PF: Kevin Love vs. Dirk Nowitzki
SF: Wesley Johnson vs. Shawn Marion
SG: Luke Ridnour vs. Vince Carter
PG: Ricky Rubio vs. Delonte West
On Fridays this season, Wesley Johnson is shooting 35% from the floor and 25% from three point range with 1.3 turnovers per game. Wesley's best day is Tuesday, where he is shooting 45% from the floor and 50% from three with 0.7 turnovers per game.
Last 5 Games
Dallas Mavericks: (15-11; 2 1/2 gms behind in Southwest; 6th seed)
Win at Phoenix 122-99
Loss vs. Oklahoma City 86-95
Loss vs. Indiana 87-98
Loss at Cleveland 88-91
Win at Denver 105-95
Minnesota Timberwolves: (13-13; 7 gms behind in Northwest ; 1 gm behind 8th seed)
Loss vs. Indiana 99-109
Win at New Jersey 108-105
Win vs. Houston 100-91
Win vs. Sacramento 86-84
Loss at Memphis 80-85
What is most notable about Darko's absence due to injury is how little anyone cares.
Injuries
Dallas Mavericks:
Jason Kidd - Questionable with strained right calf
Jason Terry - Questionable with strained right hip flexor
Minnesota Timberwolves:
Darko Milicic - "Ankle injury" and missing backbone
Malcolm Lee - Continuing his rehab tonight in his second game with the Sioux Falls Skyforce
The good thing for Dirk is that his face looks like it has already been stepped on.
Recent News
Dirk Nowitzki was selected as an Western Conference All-Star reserve, which will be his 11th consecutive All-Star nod.
Kevin Love was also selected as a Western Conference All-Star reserve, which is his second appearance.
How many Hall of Famers do you think are in this picture?*
Noteworthy Stats
- Only three players in the NBA this season have played more than 150 minutes and made less than 10 shots: Jamaal Magloire (7-of-25), DeSagana Diop (7-of-27) and Brian Cardinal (6-of-32)
- Nikola Pekovic averages more shot attempts (16.1 to 15.4), points (26.1 to 22.1) and rebounds (13.5 to 13.2) per-48 on the road than at home. He also shoots better (.700 to .578) away from the Target Center
- Lamar Odom's usage rate (22.2) is the highest it has been over the past eight seasons, but his PER (9.8) is the lowest of his entire 13-year career
- Dallas ranks 5th in the NBA in 3-point attempts (21.4 per game), but ranks 21st in 3P% (.322). Minnesota ranks 11th in attempts (19.9) and 20th in 3P% (.330)
- Despite having the lowest shooting percentage of his career (.414), Michael Beasley's shot attempts have gone down from last season (17.1 to 13.2) and he is grabbing a full rebound more than last season (6.6 to 5.6).
I like Brian Cardinal, but it might be safe to say he is currently the worst player in the NBA. Wesley Johnson's stellar PER of 5.9 is more than twice that of The Janitor (2.4).
*The correct answer is zero, since none of the five are in the Hall of Fame yet.
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Comments
Love really did that?
If so, that’s cool. Good thing he did that Wednesday and not today.
Today Ricky got his first tast of MN winters.
Thanks for the preview Tim. I vote for 2 hall of famers.
He sure did. A buddy of mine who works close by in Uptown got a signed jersey out of it
Follow me on Twitter @timallenonline
Anyone catch the DD note
from Marc Stein that Love and Luis went out to share a drink after the game? Class.
I too am a lone wolfpack.
I'm glad the NBA has moved on from the WWF days from the 80s
Growing up in Chicago, I absolutely hated the Pistons. They weren’t even fined most of these criminal acts against humanity. This is what you call ill intent to injure and maim.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kjo7QJGu9w
This is my opinion and does not constitute an endorsement, opinion or official position of the U.S. Army.
by ronatcampzama on Feb 10, 2012 4:31 PM CST up reply actions
Is he standing on a fan's face in that first photo? It's hard to tell
so I’ll assume he is
by rickyp on Feb 10, 2012 4:20 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs
There is a video somewhere
I think Zgoda posted it on his twitter. For some reason I think it’s on KSTP but I am not 100% sure.
Great preview
Computer has motherboard issues. Looks like I’ll need to find somewhere to watch the game tonight.
This is an interesting game tonight
Going with typical ebbs and flows of the season, I’d predict that the Wolves will be in for a loss tonight by a Dallas team hungry for revenge.
But I think we’re a little different. Think Love and Rubio will come out hungry, and it will be a hell of a battle. Let’s see what the boys are made of tonight.
A Sacramento-ish 1st qtr would be nice tonight
Given the putrid Wednesday performance
I too am a lone wolfpack.
why are you emotionally preparing yourself for a loss?
have some faith, bruddah… this team (healthy) can beat any team in the league on any given night.
This is my opinion and does not constitute an endorsement, opinion or official position of the U.S. Army.
by ronatcampzama on Feb 10, 2012 5:28 PM CST up reply actions
well... maybe not my Bulls
they can beat any of the other 28 teams.
This is my opinion and does not constitute an endorsement, opinion or official position of the U.S. Army.
by ronatcampzama on Feb 10, 2012 5:30 PM CST up reply actions
are you implying that the wolves can't beat themselves?
Foolishness I say!
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
If that doesn't work, cheat.
by TheEvilProfessor on Feb 10, 2012 6:08 PM CST up reply actions
7 GMs behind in Northwest
isn’t that the truth.
by rickyp on Feb 10, 2012 4:18 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
I don't know how you do it, Tim.
Your previews keep getting better and better. This may be one of the best yet. Thanks, and keep ’em coming.
How many Hall of Famers do you think are in this picture?
2
This is my opinion and does not constitute an endorsement, opinion or official position of the U.S. Army.
It's a good question, isn't it!
Two locks, one maybe, two awesome highlight reels.
T'Wolves 2012: Where Pek Decimates Jason Thompson
who's the 1 maybe?
i guess so… that 1999 draft class was pretty weak. no stars.
This is my opinion and does not constitute an endorsement, opinion or official position of the U.S. Army.
I love the day-of-week splits for Wes.
What an odd thing for Basketball Reference to use up space on.
that's just plain mean :)
What is most notable about Darko’s absence due to injury is how little anyone cares.
Darko Milicic – “Ankle injury” and missing backbone
we’ll need his length & 6 fouls for the Orlando game. not this game… but 2 games from now.
This is my opinion and does not constitute an endorsement, opinion or official position of the U.S. Army.
Memphis had 54 pts in the paint
Darko could have made a difference.
This is my opinion and does not constitute an endorsement, opinion or official position of the U.S. Army.
by ronatcampzama on Feb 10, 2012 4:57 PM CST up reply actions
Memphis had 21 offensive boards.
Darko couldn’t have made that particular difference. We know who could.
When Mareese Speights is grabbing 8 offensive rebounds in a game, you’re missing one #42.
The last thing we want to do is take long twos. It's still on our list, though.
Dwill was pathetic
I saw some people saying he played well. I guess they only watched the first three mins of the game.
Authentic frontier Gibberish
by FunkDoobious on Feb 10, 2012 6:28 PM CST up reply actions
He had a decent first quarter, and then vanished.
The last thing we want to do is take long twos. It's still on our list, though.
Can you blame him?
It’s been so long since the Wolves had anything remotely resembling a true center, he was actually being nice. It’s not Darko’s! fault, though. You can’t teach height. And when it comes to Darko!, you can’t teach much of anything else, either. Does he even know the meaning of jump shot?
Darko ain't so bad on D
if he would only go up strong on his putbacks, he wouldn’t be the recipient of so much hate
This is my opinion and does not constitute an endorsement, opinion or official position of the U.S. Army.
by ronatcampzama on Feb 10, 2012 6:33 PM CST up reply actions
I want to like Darko!, I really do!
His length can really help. And if he could only score, that would really help, too!
But if he’s still this poor a player, with all the coaching and opportunities he’s had, and 9 years in the league, I feel there is no hope for him. We know what he can do, and it’s not good enough to help our team. Another poor choice by David Kahn. There’s still a lot of work to do before we can achieve the next level.
I appreciate the information that is in the preview.
Last 5 games esp.
I have a question...
Do you think Derrick Williams, Jazz Pick, and Memphis Pick could get us James Harden?
would OKC want D-Will?
OKC is built to compete for the title this year. why would they want to possibly screw it up this year?
maybe next year if they don’t make it to the Finals this year… but by that time, it’s too late.
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine
This is my opinion and does not constitute an endorsement, opinion or official position of the U.S. Army.
by ronatcampzama on Feb 10, 2012 5:02 PM CST up reply actions
no, he has a J that's not aesthetically pleasing
an earlier post of mine…
- pigeon-toed (but not as bad as Jordan)
- doesn’t put a lot of lift in jump (unlike Ray Allen)
- doesn’t square up to basket (like D-Wade)
- ball is raised in front of face
- "unsmooth" quick release
- at end of release, shoulder is close to face
- doesn’t have space b/t ball & palm (unlike Larry Legend)
…which all equates to ugly J. but he has a decent outside J. as long as he doesn’t get lazy and settle for jumpers, and as long as he keeps making enough Js to keep Ds honest, it shouldn’t matter that that his jumper is ugly. but yes i agree – it be ugly.
This is my opinion and does not constitute an endorsement, opinion or official position of the U.S. Army.
by ronatcampzama on Feb 10, 2012 5:13 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
nicely done
For your next assignement we need a scouting report on Shawn Merian’s jumper
it wouldn't be so bad...
if he had a higher release point & didn’t have such a dramatic abrupt snap of the wrist.
This is my opinion and does not constitute an endorsement, opinion or official position of the U.S. Army.
by ronatcampzama on Feb 10, 2012 5:59 PM CST up reply actions
No chance.
But I’d do the deal in a heartbeat.
In case anyone needs more of a reason to go to the Utah Jazz game on Feb 22nd
I’ve been selected to take part in a 3-point contest at halftime. No, this isn’t a joke, although my shooting performance very well might be.
Follow me on Twitter @timallenonline
by TimAllen on Feb 10, 2012 5:27 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
Guy, you have 12 days to prepare!
Surely in over a week you can learn to inure yourself to the presence of more than 10,000 people watching you absentmindedly, wondering whether they should go to the bathroom or wait until the inevitable lull at the start of the 3rd quarter..
(Now, when we fought, you had that eye of the tiger, man; the edge! And now you gotta get it back, and the way to get it back is to go back to the beginning. You know what I mean?)
The last thing we want to do is take long twos. It's still on our list, though.
dodge duck dip dive and dodge
if someone throws wrenches at you while you practice, you’ll be ready
This is my opinion and does not constitute an endorsement, opinion or official position of the U.S. Army.
by ronatcampzama on Feb 10, 2012 5:53 PM CST up reply actions
Same shot every time, remember
If we’ve learnt anything from Wes Johnson it’s the importance of missing in rhythm.
T'Wolves 2012: Where Pek Decimates Jason Thompson
It does sooth the trauma
when you can categorically say “He’s got a great release”…
Ricky is lobbing at an Ooptimal level!
I'm doing the report card that night
so you’d better hope you do well Tim, because I can picture a lead sentence that might go like this “local man thanks TWolves marketing team for the opportunity to breakout into fame, unfortunately fate intervenes, leaving him nothing but air”. But really, good luck Tim! We’re all pulling for ya!!!!
Another stellar writeup, loved the Dirk face line!
Ricky is lobbing at an Ooptimal level!
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