Simmons on Love/Rubio:
"Anyone who voted for Griffin over Love needs to start watching League Pass instead of SportsCenter highlights; Love has been the best power forward in either conference, and by the way, haven't we all wanted to step on Luis Scola's face at least once? "

"Having an NBA All-Star Game without Ricky Rubio is like having a hot dog without mustard or ketchup. It can't happen again. Let's make this the last time. Please."

"I don't know. I don't got Twitters."

And you're likely to see call-ups at a faster rate starting Monday, when NBA teams are allowed to start handing out 10-day contracts.

"Anybody ever felt like a caged lion?"

--Here is McHale on Pekovic: "Pek's very rugged. He's used to rolling guys out, hitting guys. Guys in our league flop and hold and do all kinds of stuff. I bet he must have had million pick and roll offensive fouls last year. ... He sets screens. He hits people. I imagine he ran down the court last year and ran into people and they fell down, and he was like, 'That's what they're supposed to do when I hit 'em.' ''

Bill Simmons Likes the Wolves Now?
"The best example of things changing: The Minnesota Timberwolves Rubio Loves improbably morphing into America's Team. This couldn't have happened 15 years ago, 10 years ago, or maybe even five years ago, but the League Pass/Twitter/Texting/iPhone/iPad Era has been a phenomenal asset for them. Any time something is brewing with Minnesota — the T-Wolves trying to upset another contender, Rubio approaching a triple-double, Love going for a 30-20, you name it — word spreads quickly enough to catch crunch time. You know, assuming you weren't watching it, anyway. Had this specific Timberwolves season happened 15 years ago, we only could have enjoyed it through Craig Kilborn's 2 a.m. SportsCenter highlights. In our on-demand world of 2012, you can watch any Timberwolves game in any possible situation. Amazing."

I've been living in #freeKevinLove world and all of a sudden this pops in. I know we've loved it, but are wolves really capturing the rest of NBA fandom. Will our small market ball that is exciting and fun (Rubio, Love, and oh how I want to believe it's Beasley) rescue the league from all of it's plodding, big metro, top heavy marketing?

Timberwolves: The Minnesota Timberwolves are a two guard away from being very good. They know it. The league knows it and Timberwolves’ fans have known it all season.

The Wolves have a number of cashable parts. The problem is there does not seem to be a lot of interest in Wes Johnson, Wayne Ellington or Luke Ridnour – especially not for a starting caliber two guard.

Sources close to the situation say there are few teams that would do a deal for rookie Derrick Williams but at this point the Wolves seem unwilling to move him or entertain talks involving him.

The parts the Wolves would cash don’t seem to be drawing much, so while the Wolves understand they need to upgrade, they are not eager to make a bad deal, but expect them to be active in the march up to the deadline. If a starter at the two spot shakes loose, they seem eager and willing to pull the trigger.

Keep an eye on Houston’s Courtney Lee… Wolves’ coach Rick Adelman knows him and it seems he is available from the Rockets. If the price comes down, don’t be surprised to see a deal.

Courtney is no Kevin Martin, but at this point the Wolves are buyers in a sellers’ market place.

So the Spurs didn't pick up the option on James Anderson. Very unimpressive numbers, but he was a popular candidate for the Babbit/Webster pick in 2010. Anyone still interested, or is he just another below-average wing?

Minnesota Timberwolves (7-10)
The marquee names in Minnesota's improvement -- Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio and coach Rick Adelman -- are all associated with prolific offense, and yet its greatest upgrade has been on defense. "A huge part of that is accountability," forward Anthony Tolliver said. "We didn't have that last year. Now, if you don't play defense, you're coming out of the game." Another huge part is the play of Rubio, who has debunked questions about his toughness and quickness by ranking among the league leaders in both steals and drawing charges. According to Basketball Value, the Wolves allow nearly 11 fewer points per 100 possessions when he is on the court compared to when he sits, easily the best differential on the team.

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23 Jan