Wolves host OKC tonight, Love putting up all-star numbers, Flynn likely back to D-League for the weekend and more
From Dana Wessel/1500ESPN.com:
Lastly, point guard Jonny Flynn remains out and is most likely heading back to NBDL affiliate Sioux Falls Skyforce to continue his rehab from hip surgery.
Flynn was recalled after last Friday's game with the Skyforce but Rambis has said he wants to see how Flynn responds to playing a back-to-back, which the Skyforce have scheduled for this Friday and Saturday night at home against Tulsa.
From Ray Richardson/Pioneer Press:
"He's putting up old-school numbers, numbers before my time," Wolves coach Kurt Rambis said. "The numbers are fairly ridiculous."
In the Wolves' past five games, the third-year veteran is averaging 39.0 minutes, 23.8 points and 17.8 rebounds and shooting 90.9 percent from the free-throw line (40 of 44). He's also shooting 50 percent on three-pointers (9 of 18), giving teams fits over how to defend him. In one stretch over the Wolves' past two games, he set a team record with eight consecutive three-pointers until misfiring in the third quarter Monday night at New York.
Love has backed his push for consistent playing time with the kind of rebounding and scoring that could produce enough votes to get him into the NBA All-Star Game. He's averaging 20.0 points overall and shooting 44.1 percent from the floor.
"We don't do a whole lot for him," Rambis said. "He does a lot of it on his own. He creates his own shots, and his teammates are finding him. He's just a man out there on the boards. He helps our defense with his defensive rebounding, and he helps us score when he's on the offensive boards. He's playing at a very high level right now."
From Mike Tokito/The Oregonian: Kevin Love is putting up huge numbers, but are they enough to land him in All-Star Game?
On NBA-TV, Brent Barry discussed Love last night.
"It would really be hard to argue that Kevin Love would not deserve some consideration for that game," the former Oregon State star said. "The numbers that he's putting up are astounding."
From Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune:
Beasley's mom -- a single woman who raised four children -- dropped her son at Durant's home before dawn winter mornings, in time for breakfast. The two boys then rode the bus to school and afterward, they played basketball into the evenings together.
"I love him like a brother," Durant said. "We worked so hard. People doubted us so long. We got better every day for us to be here together. Playing each other on the highest stage of basketball is an unbelievable feeling. It's just a blessing."
Separated by only four months in age and one year in school, Durant and Beasley were teammates first, rivals next and friends always.
From Chris Mannix/SI.com:
Meet Michael Beasley, version 2.0. This is not the same Beasley who flamed out after two seasons Miami. That Beasley frustrated teammates and coaches alike with his ability to dominate some stretches and completely disappear in others. That Beasley was seduced by the trappings of the NBA lifestyle -- a lifestyle that bottomed in August 2009, when he checked into rehab after a series of tweets that suggested Beasley was contemplating suicide.
This Beasley is different. His life is in order, he says. His game? That's definitely picked up. Through 19 games of his first season with Minnesota, Beasley is averaging 21.8 points on 47.7 percent shooting. As the centerpiece of the Wolves' triangle offense, Beasley has found a comfort level that eluded him in Miami.
Minnesota averaged three more points in the paint per game last season than they have this year, but this team's struggles go much deeper than that. The T-Wolves are averaging 1.16 points per shot (26th in the league), which puts them in company with Sacramento, Cleveland and Milwaukee. Essentially Minnesota, a team that specializes in 3-pointers and long twos, is too inefficient to compete.
From Tzvi Twersky/SLAM Online: Sundiata Gaines comes home to New York.
Previews for tonight's game against the Thunder: