Canis Hoopus: FanPosts

CH hang night

2012-02-07T21:20:51Z

Well, well, well... its time that I increase the creepiness factor here at CH. I am organizing a CH hang out night @ my house. I want to spread cheer and give a free/cheap option to see a untelevised game. Details below the fold.

When?- March 10th vs NO Hornets aka Only team with a worse POBO than us.

Where?- Triple B's house

What? - Hang out night to watch the game. Free beer will be provided. Some will be home brew. Some will be cheap beer. I will also provide a few little Ceasars pizzas. Everything else can be brought for self or to share.

To sign up, email me and post in thread. I will email you my address, as I dont want it posted for my haters out there. :/. nfgrawker@gmail.com .... Note- My house is in North West MPLS right north of 55. It is 5 mins from stadium so shouldnt be a problem for most.

Rules-

1. Wear your Twolves gear.

2. Tell me my homebrew is good.

3. Have fun. Be funny.

4. Come!

Ok. I hope this isnt too creepy but I would love a crowd anywhere from 4-15. Please sign up!

It's prediction time

2012-02-07T19:36:18Z

So the Wolves are without our superstar Kevin Love for 2 games. We've hashed and rehashed such topics of whether or not it was avoidable, the definition of a stomp and if 2 games was too long of a suspension (cough Bynum cough). Now it's time to have some fun as two players the Wolves have gone out and acquired in the last year will play. Aaron Randolph courtesy of our part in the Melo deal, and number 2 draft pick Derick Williams. For posterity sake (and bragging rights) make your predictions below.

Zebano's Predictions:

Wolves go 1-1, defeating Sacramento but losing to a physical Memphis team.
Ricky Rubio records his first 20 point game (and throws in 12 assists for good measure)
Derick Williams starts, plays 30 minutes at PF and gives us good production (16 points, 10 rebounds, 1 block) against Sac, but is totally stymied by the Grizzlies.
Randolph the Grey has his way with 3 Rubioops in 2 games/ 40 minutes but is pulled early in the Memphis game because he's not physical enough. Adelman rolls with a Center/PF combo consisting of 2 of Darko/Pek/Miller with a little Williams thrown in.
Marc Gasol gives props to the eastern bloc in his postgame comments, specifically Pek.
My man with the FroHawk drops 24 on Sacramento with 5 3 pointers and some nice cuts. He plays well and the #FreeMartelWebster twitter campaign begins! (Disclaimer: I have irrational love for Martel the way CynicalJason roots for Pek) .... this eventually leads to him starting in place of Wes Johnson at the 3.

Video Collection Section Suggestion?

2012-02-07T19:24:15Z

Can we get a little section on the side somewhere where we can put links to Wolves' vids?

I personally spend a lot of time scouring the web for Wolves' highlight vids. There is always a good one on ESPN after each game, and on NBA.com after each game. But then there are just random ones that pop up on youtube. Or someone will make a cool one and post it in a thread here, or some other news site will have a good interview or something.

It would be really useful and great if readers could just submit links in a dedicated video section. It would also drive traffic to here because it would be the definitive place to see all news and vid about the Wolves.

I know you will say that people can do that in Fanshot or whatever, but that is for a bunch of stuff, so the videos get mixed in and lost in the volume of stuff.

Good lord this site is slow...

2012-02-07T17:50:35Z

Anyone else having issues pulling this site up? At work and at home... For awhile now.

Are there server issues going on with SB Nation?

I guess I need 75 words so I'll just say that I love this site and usually check it a few times a day. I work through the issues but its becoming more and more irritating to continually have to hit "refresh" to get a page to load. I work in IT so I know it can be tough to keep up with the demand. Hopefully they fix the issues if there are issues to fix.

Not another Spaniard... hold up... wot?

2012-02-07T06:51:26Z

I've seen a few introductory greeting posts lately popping up on canis, and I thought, after spending a few weeks lurking on game threads, typing in the odd comment, and joining in the general festivities here, that it was about time I presented myself to the community.

Contrary to what would make sense, I did not become a wolves fan because of Ricky Rubio (the unicorn, such a tasteful nickname), or Kevin Love, or Rick Adelman, or Kevin Garnett, or because i'm Spanish (i'm not), or because i have ties with Minneapolis (I don't). I first became acquainted with the nba game about three years ago, as a result of the video game NBA live 09. I know now that the live series holds no ground over 2k, but I was fresh off the basketball boat, and it became my first taste of the wonderful game. I've lived in New Zealand my whole life (haven't heard of it? I'm not surprised. A sneak peek at the bottom right hand corner of the world map and you'll see it. We're famous for being ridiculously good at rugby, and having lots of sheep. Oh, and Flight of the Conchords). Here in little old nz, we have minimal access to american sports. The only time it pops up on our sports news is when a superbowl is won, or the nba finals finish. The only nba names i knew belonged to kobe and lebron, and even then I couldn't name the teams they played for.

For someone who had grown up playing rugby 06 and cricket 07 on ps2 (if you've played these you'll know what i mean), the quality of NBA live 09 was like a breath of fresh air on my face. I quickly became enamored with it, acquainting myself with the best players in the game and jamming ps2 for hours on end. As with anyone who's played a sporting video game, I created a stylised version of myself, and promptly stacked all my ratings to the maximum. I had to pick a team. It was an important decision. And one that has changed my life for the better since. I chose the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Why the wolves you might ask? Why pick a team which at that time, had a rookie called Kevin Love rated 60 who wasn't even given his own picture. Why pick a team whose best player was Mike Miller? Well, quite honestly, I wanted a challenge so I picked what the game told me was the worst team in the league. And to my credit, I haven't let go since (For those who care, I dominated throughout that season, averaging 50 ppg and carrying the Wolves all the way to a title).

So that's how I got here, and it hasn't been the easiest path travelled. Two years of Rambis and the triangle offence left me feeling cheated. I was ridiculed by friends who rode the lakers, okc, and heat bandwagons and flogged them to death. There have been highlights. The 30-30 game stands out. I never saw the game, but I remember checking the wolves game on my phone, seeing the digits 31-31 next to Kevin Love and promptly needing to change my pants.

But finally, things are on the way up. We've hit .500, have a great coach, the best pf in the game, the unicorn, and a group of fellas who push the envelope to entertain us every night they play. Canis Hoopus is a great community and I hope all you good folks will welcome me with open arms. Before I go, a few final points.

- I made a bet with my mate who's a Laker's fan that the Wolves will win their first title before the Laker's win their next. Everyone thought I was retarded. But then again, everyone thought the same when I said Kevin Love was the best rebounder in the league 2 years ago. Suck on that, haters, I'll just ride my faith.

- With the exception of Steve Nash, I have never seen anyone as selfless on the court as our Ricky. A true team player.

- Pek is a monster. Every time he catches a unicorn pass I crack a huge grin, content with the knowledge that our starting center can finally catch a basketball.

- While our boy Kevin is in the naughty corner for the week, is Adelman gonna unleash the caged lion?

- Playoffs? Here's hoping.

Goodnight wolves fans, and i'll see all of you good people on the game thread tomorrow. Go wolves!

2/7 Kings +7 at Wolves

2012-02-07T00:52:01Z

Who is the TOP Wolves prognosticator against the spread ? There's so much knowledge here so PICK how the Wolves do against the spread and give your reasoning. "The urge to gamble is so universal,and its practice so pleasurable that I assume it must be evil" "If I lose today, I can look forward to winning tomorrow, and if I win today, I can expect to lose tomorrow. A sure thing is no fun." – Chico Marx .... Canis Hoopus POLL CONSENSUS RECORD 15 - 8.

Poll

Pick the winner

Anthony Randolph on his way out?

2012-02-06T21:22:25Z

When the Wolves acquired A.R. in the Carmelo deal, I had no idea what to expect from Randolph except a really lanky and athletic dude. He played very well during the end of last season and especially when Kevin was out injured. This year has had a a really sporadic season with some great performances and some not so great ones. Now Adelman has had Randolph as the first healthy inactives the past few games. This brings me to my question, of all the 3s and 4s (Williams, Tolliver, Beasley, Johnson, Randolph and Webster) the Wolves have, which one would you not mind leaving? Personally if the Wolves could get a good 2 for Johnson and Webster I'd do it in a heart beat.

Trade Proposal for Chicago

2012-02-06T20:04:18Z

This is my first post, so be gentle

I have been tinkering with the trade machine, and think I have found a decent trade that could improve some of our weaknesses. I couldn't figure out how to get the direct link to work, but the trade machine says it is successful. Goes like this:

Chicago gets: Michael Beasley, Wes Johnson

Minnesota gets: Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer

I like this trade because Brewer plays well defensively and can probably put up more efficient numbers than Wes. Brewer wouldn't solve our problem at the 2 because I don't consider him a starter, but he may bandage the wound a little. Luke would still have to start at the 2 unless Ellington steps up his game. And Korver is a bit of a liability on defense, but his perimeter scoring is unreal and he would likely produce big time with Rubio distributing his way. We are definitely in need of a consistent 3-ball that isn't coming from a power forward.

The trade machine also says any combination of a straight up trade with these four guys works as well.

The question is, would Chicago ship out two of their major role players in a season where they most likely will contend for the conference and league title?

Thoughts CHers? Does anyone agree that Brewer and Korver would improve our team? Would they be enough, or would we still have to pursue a starting 2 like Mayo?

What If DWill...

2012-02-06T19:21:22Z

By now we all know Kevin Love has been suspended for the next 2 games and we know (expect) DWill to play a lot more minute at the PF position...

What if Derrick Williams actually puts out a show on the court while starting these next 2 games? We have all seen the highlights from the college career and know what he is capable of...

Do we use the possible buildup value to trade him by the deadline or do we put him back in the bench after KLove is back?

I personally think that if he plays well these next two games we should use that displayed potential and trade him.

Will The REAL Derrick Williams Please Stand Up?

2012-02-06T17:42:39Z

Oh, if he has a decent mid-range game or can hit 3s above .400 and can get to the line, he might be worth it.

This is a quote from last year's final CH draft board from s-n-p. Let me just start by saying last year's draft was the worst in years to have a top 5 pick. How unlucky are the wolves? Imagine having the number 2 pick in this year's draft instead of last years. :-(

Anyways, I am getting veeeery frustrated with what I see in Derrick Williams. I know I know, he's only a rook. People keep saying that, that he'll "get it". The issue is that some skills shouldn't need to be honed. Either you have it or you don't. Think about all of the things that you thought D-Will was going to bring to the table right off the bat. My expectations were, at bare minimum, a thunderous dunking finisher who could EASILY finish at the rim, as well as a nice slasher using 2-3 direct line dribbles. The problem is, he isn't able to do those things at all, and those are basics that can't simply be developed. He is not explosive off of 2 feet to finish, arms don't seem long, takes too much time to collect himself when finishing. Another thing that bothers me is I expected a super high energy kind of player. It seems just the opposite. Maybe he hangs out with AR too much because he looks sleepy out there half the time. So those are the things I thought he would give us.

Then, on his pre-draft tour, he sold himself. We watched the videos. We heard the tweets. We watched sports science. We read the interviews. DW had proclaimed himself as a 3, not a 4, boasting of his outside shooting and ability to handle and penetrate. It all looked good on the internet. We bought it hook line and sinker. This is the NUMBER TWO pick in the draft people. You understand the value of the #2 pick, correct? This could go down as the worst draft pick in Wolves history when you consider the value of the pick and the type of player DW is, if he does not improve SIGNIFICANTLY.

I am flat out in trade DW mode. So many of you think he holds a great value on the market. I hope you are right. Right now I would trade him straight up for a guy like Anthony Morrow, who has a prooven and valuable, and quite needed NBA skill, shooting. I flat out doubt DW would be enough to land him though, as teams have had a chance to see what DW has to offer at this point, and it ain't much. Am I onto something or just on something?

Rick Adelman: top 5 coach?

2012-02-06T04:07:31Z

Now that Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan, Don Nelson, Pat Reily and Larry Brown are no longer roaming the sidelines, is Rick Adelman definetely the top 5 coach in the NBA? Given his pedigree, his longevity, and his historic success - and taking into account his lack of a championship - are there 5 current coaches who are better than our own Mr. Adelman? Greg Popovich is clearly the best. Rick Carlisle and Doc Rivers have been very successful AND each have a ring. George Carl? Perhaps. Is there anyone else you would take over Adelman right now? And how nice is it to have one of these on our our side for a change?

Hilarious Tweet from Malcolm Lee

2012-02-06T02:31:41Z

The poor guy hasn't even had a chance to catch his bearings.

leezy3 Malcolm Lee Just got done grinding. Dumb hungry. What is there to eat in Sioux Falls Iowa? Its like a population of 30 out here

I hope his D-League stint is a short one, since small-town life doesn't seem to be his thing. On the other hand, it could be an eye-opening experience for him.

Actually, I hope his D-League stint is a short one because I still hold out hope that he can be part of the solution at the shooting guard spot. If nothing else, maybe the thought of being supplanted in the starting lineup by a rookie will light a fire under Wes's ass.

One can hope.

Houston, We Are A Problem: Report Card vs. Rockets

2012-02-05T18:42:25Z

My internet works again, so I can share with you my thoughts on the game, which I watched this afternoon.

Pregame, I had a number of questions, which I'm sure many of you shared. Questions such as:

Can the Wolves finally go to .500?
Is Beas going to take over again?
If he does, will McHale continue to guard him with Budinger/Parsons?
Is Pek going to collect any more skulls?
How many bloody times do we have to play Houston anyway?

Firstly, .500 baby!

Secondly, apologies in advance.

Let's go...

First half, the Wolves came out strong and didn't fall behind early, and from then it was just a case of hanging on. This needs to happen every game. We got kinda lucky, Kevin Martin wasn't really in the game at all (2 points in 31 minutes) and couldn't get near Ridnour on defence early on. Ran a nice tight 10 man rotation (although Miller only played 6) and did what we had to do.

Near the end of the third we ran a really interesting 3 guard (all points!), 2 forward line-up of Ricky/JJ/Luke/Beas/KLove which actually looked pretty decent. (Was more balanced when Webster came in for Luke).

Houston turned it up in the 4th, and it felt like we were going to throw it away, but some nice play from Pek and a whole load of missed shots by Houston made it safe.

Starting line up:

Ricky Rubio 13-1-11 in 36 minutes B+

Seemed kinda off in the first half. BEAUTIFUL steal at the end of the first half. You know how it is, he's the Unicorn. Despite being a bit off he still outplayed all the Rockets' guards in my eyes and made some nice shots in the fourth. As always, highlight passes and general magical stuff.

Luke Ridnour 22-2-2 in 31 minutes (freaky symmetrical) A-

When Luke's shot is falling, he's fantastic. There was a period in the first quarter where we were going to Luke every time being guarded by Martin, and Houston would give it to Parsons to go at Ridnour at the other end. Played nice at the 2 next to Rubio, and I don't remember him ever running the point? Felt like it was always either Rubio or Barea. Anyway, good game from Ridnour.

Wes Johnson 5-1-0 in 19 minutes C

Nice alley-oop off a Rubio (who else?) pass, hit a 3. Pretty unremarkable game otherwise.

Kevin Love 25-18-1 and one stamp in 38 minutes B

Seemed a bit out of sorts - announcing team said he had flu. I thought he did a decent job defending Scola, but Scola got 24 so maybe I was seeing things that weren't there. Really good job on offence too. Him and Scola battled all game, which I guess brings us to the stamp. He's getting suspended for sure. He looks down, and stamps his chest, there's kind of no defence for it. I also think it's going to damage his reputation in the league. Bizarrely, Scola improved post-incident, and I felt like Love went cold for a bit. However, I can't let it get in the way of Love's overall game, which I thought was pretty decent.

Nikola Pekovic 11-9-0 in 29 minutes A-

The Peksecutioner. Tyrannosaurus Pek. The Pekberg.

Who can stop this guy? Big respect to Cynical, he's been talking this guy up for ages now, and he really does seem the real deal. Start him, leave him in as long as he can play/as long as foul trouble allows. Did a good job both ends on Dalembert (4 points, one rebound) and split time at C with Love and Miller.

I bumped him up to an A because he really stepped up in the 4th and crushed all his opponents before him. Add a couple of skulls.

The Bench

Michael Beasley 6-6-1 in 19 minutes C

His time on the sidelines seems to have helped. No longer stopping the ball movement, he's making nice passes and sensible plays. Kind of unremarkable - nothing sticks out (bad or good) but played well overall. Definitely prefer him coming off the bench though.

JJ Barea 10-3-3 in 25 minutes B+

I'd like to see some stats in terms of difference in pace when JJ is running point and when Rubio is. It feels fast with Ricky out there, but Barea makes everything seem super quick. Also, he creates a whole load of problems when he goes to the rim, noone can get near him. Kept it energetic in the second quarter.

Brad Miller 0-2-2 in 6 minutes B-/incomplete

Did I see him throw an alley oop (missed) for Webster? Kinda uninspiring numbers, but he felt a lot more important. Came in in the second quarter and (along with JJ), steadied it a bit and kept the momentum going. Couple of turnovers as a result of misunderstandings too.

Martell Webster 2-1-1 in 20 minutes C

Shot doesn't seem to want to fall at the moment, but energetic and hustling for loose balls. Want to see what he can do with bigger minutes.

Derrick Williams 6-5-0 in 13 minutes C/incomplete

We've had two biiiiig missed dunks this year, that would both have made big highlights. Webster with the left hander off a drive in his first game back, and tonight, with DWill attempting a HUGE putback off a missed Webster 3.

I just don't know anymore. When he's out on the court, he looks like (with enough minutes) he could do something really special. Where can we get the minutes from though? If we can fit him in and give him over 20 minutes a night I think we have to keep him. Otherwise, I don't know. I like him a lot though.

Mr. Adelman: A+

How much fun is it watching this team?

Also, I love having a coach that's constantly up on the sidelines looking animated.

I have so much respect, I will now no longer refer to him as Rick, or Adelman. It's Mr. Adelman from here on out.

Luis Scola's Hair: F

C'mon man.

Announcers: C

Apart from some rubbish about cricket, they did a good job. Weird seeing a game at Target Centre that isn't called by Hanny and J-Pete though.

Officiating: D

All over the place.

---

That's your lot. Hope you don't feel I've messed it up too badly!

Comments, constructive criticism and personal abuse below.

Also, I saw Jonny Flynn!

Matchup Zone?!

2012-02-05T15:03:37Z

This hasn't been mentioned about the Rockets game on 2/4 yet but for the last 2+ minutes of the game, the Wolves went with a line-up of Rubio, Ridnour, Barea, Love, and Pek and played a 2-3 matchup zone on defense. The game was mostly decided by this point as the wolves had an 8 point lead when they switched to this lineup but WHAT?! We played three point guards at crunch time! Three pure point guards! This isn't really about that though.

I wanted to talk about the pretty effective matchup zone they used to disguise their size disadvantage. I don't think that I have ever seen a matchup zone in professional basketball. The Rockets had no idea what to do because they couldn't run their pick and roll game. I don't think they scored form their half court offense against this defense and just relied on outside jumpers.

Could this be something we see more of through the season or will teams be start game planning for it and pick us apart?

It's been a looong time.

2012-02-05T00:04:21Z

It's been a looong time since our TWolves have been knocking at the the 500 door.

These days I find myself thinking "will our Wolves be 500 after tonight?" pretty frequently. I came to realize that this thought, this late in the season, has reason to get us excited. 8-9, 10-11 is really remarkable considering what we've struggled through the past 1/2 decade, and it is a thought I haven't had for a very, very long time. I thought I'd see what y'all thought about how close we've been to 500 this late in the season. Nearing this milestone shows some pretty good success (especially in the West) this year.

Honestly, my 34-win season prediction prior to the season was more kidding around than serious. Now it is (I think very realistically founded) more serious than kidding around.

I see the last 2 games as pretty drab, but I am chalking it up to the coaching staff figuring out what rotations may (or may not) work now that we have an influx of players returning from injury. If they get it figured out quickly, we should be able to take another small step forward, and maybe even play slightly above 500.

My assessment thus-far: I am happy to see the steady win-progression. Consider this a disagreement with any proponent of flopping for draft picks until you are magically ported into a contender and expecting a switch to be flipped. I think we should expect steady improvement in the wins column until we are deep into the playoffs (several years) with continued good management, player development, and coaching. Even though Ellington is doing well, I think the 2 should still be our focus. I hope for some serious trade rumors without sacrificing too much talent as we near the deadline. I'd like to see us on the side of "single better player" for "multiple less valuable players".

FYI- this is my 1st official FanPost\ contribution. Watched nearly every TWolves game since their inception that I could figure out how to tune in, or beg, borrow or plead for. Been reading for many years here, and been posting for a couple years.

I'd like to hear what you have to say regarding how mine or your personal predictions are coming true, and how expectations are being met (or not) with this year's team thus far.

Poll

Overall, are you satisfied with the growth seen this year, or think this team is not meeting expectations that you had prior to the season's first tip-off?