The Timberwolves were on the road to the playoffs. What we didn't know was that their was a huge ditch halfway along the road. Words can't describe how Rubio's injury make me feel. Words like devastated, shell-shocked, and disheartened just don't cut it. I feel compunction since this once promising season will end up for naught. This season was like the Titanic. Innovative in that we had never seen anything quite like it. Awe-inspiring. Entertaining. Then the ice berg of Kobe Bryant came. The hull of the ship cracked and water started pouring in. The ship started sinking. And that's where that analogy ends.

The emotions that Rubio's injury has elicited are powerful but when I look at it now, after a couple hours of reflection, getting too down on the Wolves is myopic. We haven't sank folks. Ali's blows have struck hard but Frazier is going to keep getting back up. Their is duality in life. There are falls and ascents. The stock market plummets one day and skyrockets another. We will have our moment in the sun and when we do Rubio will be the one dishing out the dimes.

If we had made the playoffs this year we probably wouldn't have done much damage. The thing is we were expecting playoffs and dreaming about the 2nd round. Now the playoffs seem like a pipe dream. We were counting our eggs our eggs before they hatched which made the loss of Ricky pain even more.

Despite all of this, next year we will still have our lovable cast of characters. The only difference is that Love will be better. Same with Pek, Wes, Williams, Lee, and maybe even Randolph and Ellington. Beasley could even become valuable if he stops playing like someone shot him with a tranquilizer gun. Ricky's development will stagnate a little but he will still be young. As Minnesota sports fans we've been cursed with the anathema of bad luck. AP, Rubio, Mbakwe, and Mauer have all been hit with significant injuries. They're also the type of people who have the work ethic to overcome them.

I'm not saying that we are winning it all in 2013 but it is in the realm of possibility that we could get better. Our players are just pups; wait until they become Timberwolves. Wait until Derrick Williams can shoot free throws, Rubio can shoot, Wes can dribble, and Pek learns what a 'travel' is. Once our players follow their natural progression, we only become better. With players like Love and Rubio, we can attract coveted free agents from all around the league. Batum anyone? We can become a perennial powerhouse.

Professional sports can rip your heart out. What we have the realize is that this team is riding a roller coaster; we just went up a little and thus had a little drop. Now we are climbing up again only this time the sky is the limit.