Do we have to play the Houston Rockets again?
Minnesota Timberwolves (14-16) vs. Houston Rockets (17-13) at Toyota Center
Luis Scola foot stomp.
Kevin McHale.
Jonny Flynn.
Kyle Lowry > Ricky Rubio?
Kevin Martin kills the Wolves. Maybe they'll trade him to us instead?
Hasheem Thabeet...what's up with that guy?
There. Those are the most exciting storylines for tonight's game. I'm tired of writing about the Houston Rockets. This is the fourth game between the two teams in the last 25 days. At least the Wolves have won the last two...
I typed "Kevin McHale" into Google Image Search and this is the first result that popped up. Deal with it.
Projected Starting Lineups
C: Nikola Pekovic vs. Samuel Dalembert
PF: Kevin Love vs. Luis Scola
SF: Wesley Johnson vs. Chandler Parsons
SG: Luke Ridnour vs. Kevin Martin
PG: Ricky Rubio vs. Kyle Lowry
I typed "Kevin Martin" into Bing's Image Search and this was the 10th result that popped up. Whatever. Sue me.
Last 5 Games
Houston Rockets: (3rd in Southwest, 4 gms behind SAS; 6th in West)
Wed, Feb 8: Win @ Portland 103-96
Thur, Feb 9: Win @ Phoenix 96-89
Sun, Feb 12: Loss @ Golden State 97-106
Tue, Feb 14: Loss @ Memphis 83-93
Wed, Feb 15: Win vs. Oklahoma City 96-95
Minnesota Timberwolves: (5th in Northwest, 8 1/2 gms behind OKC; 11th in West, 2 gms behind 8th seed)
Wed, Feb 8: Loss @ Memphis 80-85
Fri, Feb 10: Loss vs. Dallas 97-104
Sat, Feb 11: Loss vs. New York 98-100
Mon, Feb 13: Loss @ Orlando 89-102
Wed, Feb 15: Win vs. Charlotte 102-90
I typed Michael Beasley into Yahoo Image Search and this was the 34th photo that popped up. It's close enough.
Injuries
Houston Rockets
No notable injuries
Minnesota Timberwolves
No notable injuries
Noteworthy Stats
- Last season, the Minnesota Timberwolves had the highest pace (96.5) and gave up the most points per game (107.7) in the NBA. This season, they have the 2nd highest Pace (94.0) and are 17th in Opp PTS/G (95.4).
- In the last minute of the 4th quarter, and a margin within 5 points, here are the Wolves' FG%s:
- Derrick Williams 100% (2-of-2)
- Ricky Rubio 57% (4-of-7)
- Kevin Love 38% (3-of-8)
- Michael Beasley 25% (2-of-8)
- Wayne Ellington 0% (0-of-2)
- Martell Webster 0% (0-of-2)
- Luke Ridnour 0% (0-of-2)
Last season, those FG%s were:
- Ellington 75% (3-of-4)
- Beasley 50% (11-of-22)
- Anthony Tolliver 50% (2-of-4)
- Corey Brewer 50% (1-of-2)
- Darko Milicic 50% (1-of-2)
- Martell Webster 40% (2-of-5)
- Wesley Johnson 17% (1-of-6)
- Luke Ridnour 13% (2-of-15)
- Kevin Love 0% (0-of-9)
- Sebastian Telfair 0% (0-of-1) - Kevin Love is currently 8th in the NBA in field goal attempts per game at 18.0. The next closest Timberwolf is Michael Beasley at 12.4 FGA per game. Houston's FGA/gm leader is Kevin Martin at 14.4, followed by Luis Scola at 13.6 and Kyle Lowry at 11.9.
- Chase Budinger is 6-of-6 on dunk attempts so far this season. Derrick Williams is 18-of-20. Iman Shumpert is 10-of-15. Paul George is 20-of-23. Those four will compete in this year's slam dunk contest
- James Jones is currently shooting 19-of-47 (.404). Joe Johnson is 54-of-154 (.351) . Kevin Love is 46-of-127 (.362). Anthony Morrow is 65-of-156 (.417). Ryan Anderson is 87-200 (.435). Mario Chalmers is 57-of-123 (.463). Those six will compete in this year's three point contest. Chalmers is the only one in the top-10 of 3-Pt% with none of the top 4 - Brandon Rush, Mike Miller, Ray Allen or Klay Thompson - participating in the event.
I typed "Jonny Flynn" into Photobucket and this was the 6th result that popped up. Sounds about right.
