Here it is. The last game the Timberwolves were above .500 after the New Year, January 22, 2007.
| Basic Box Score Statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starters | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
| Kevin Garnett | 41:54 | 8 | 16 | .500 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 17 |
| Ricky Davis | 41:06 | 10 | 16 | .625 | 4 | 8 | .500 | 8 | 9 | .889 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 32 |
| Trenton Hassell | 40:58 | 2 | 7 | .286 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| Mark Blount | 34:22 | 4 | 9 | .444 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | .750 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | |
| Mike James | 25:32 | 4 | 10 | .400 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Reserves | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
| Randy Foye | 22:28 | 4 | 8 | .500 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | |
| Craig Smith | 10:41 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Mark Madsen | 9:03 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |
| Troy Hudson | 7:50 | 0 | 5 | .000 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Marko Jaric | 6:06 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Team Totals | 240 | 35 | 76 | .461 | 7 | 19 | .368 | 14 | 19 | .737 | 7 | 28 | 35 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 17 | 91 |
| Basic Box Score Statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starters | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
| Deron Williams | 38:21 | 9 | 16 | .563 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 21 |
| Derek Fisher | 36:28 | 3 | 10 | .300 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 3 | 4 | .750 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| Mehmet Okur | 34:38 | 10 | 16 | .625 | 4 | 6 | .667 | 4 | 5 | .800 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 28 |
| Carlos Boozer | 32:49 | 9 | 14 | .643 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 18 | ||
| Andrei Kirilenko | 29:08 | 3 | 5 | .600 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | |
| Reserves | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
| Matt Harpring | 26:28 | 5 | 9 | .556 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 11 | |
| Jarron Collins | 15:51 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Gordan Giricek | 13:35 | 3 | 7 | .429 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| Paul Millsap | 12:42 | 2 | 3 | .667 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| Team Totals | 240 | 45 | 81 | .556 | 5 | 11 | .455 | 11 | 15 | .733 | 6 | 26 | 32 | 30 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 106 |
What was going on way back in January of 2007? The financial collapse was still several months off into the future, President Bush was still in office, Senator Obama was facing the charge of attending a Muslim madrassa while in grade school, the US had a tough weekend in Al Anbar province, an airplane skidded off a Milwaukee runway, Ramon Ortiz signed with the Twins, Stomp the Yard and Alpha Dog were in theaters, Katherine McPhee was your American Idol, and somewhere in a Lake Oswego High School hallway, Kevin Love was having to resist a strong urge to step on the face of Lupe, an exchange student from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Looking around at the game thread and Twitter, I see that there is a lot of pearl clutching about Kevin Love putting his boot in Luis Scola's chest (and face!). Please, get it out of the way quickly. Here....here's a virtual fainting couch where you can rest your weary head until you get your vapors under control.
Ready? Great.
This is the game the Wolves got out of the ranks of the losers. It isn't the game where the piss-poor referees in a piss-poor shortened season let a game get completely out of hand as two really scrappy and good players hacked the living hell out of each other. Once Love had his outrageous 3 oreb-toss-it-up-lay-up possession, and once he followed it up with a Paul Bunyan ax chop that received no whistle...well, either it was going to end with a punch, a nut-punch, a head-hunting foul, a kick, or, in this particular case, the guy on our favorite squad stepping on the chest (and face!) of Luis Scola. One way or another, it was going to end ugly. Love was the ugly ender. He'll get fined or suspended or whatever. He'll probably even apologize. (The refs didn't even see the play, just like they didn't see the ax chop, the jersey grabs, and the extraordinary amount of hacking that led to the unfortunate situation where the players had the green light to do whatever they wanted to. I'm fairly certain Love could have brought back the Bruce Bowen flying face kick and got away with it with this crew.)
Anywho.
I don't really know what to say about this particular moment. It's been a loonnnnnnnnnnnnng road back to .500 and the people who have stuck with this franchise over that time have seen some terrible basketball. Look at that roster from Casey's last game. Look at the 4th worst 2 year stretch in league history (the last 2 years). Look at the worst coach in team history trying to coach up the worst pick in team history. Look at Sam I Am and Spree devolving into Mike James and Ricky Buckets. Look at Wrong Gator, McFoye, Ryan Hollins' favorite color, Stewie, Witt, Cupcake, Brewsists, Jonny Stops, Roy > Foye, DMC vs. Wes, PGs and PFs, Ty Lawson, Steph Curry, raise your hands, windows of opportunity...it goes on and on and on and on.
I don't have much to say about this particular game. I plan on remembering as much about its specifics as I did about Casey's Last Stand. Your and my favorite team is back at .500. They have two stud players and a developing big. If Love starts to build his cheap shot sample size to the level of this guy then I'll start to pay more attention. Until then, .500...enjoy it without worrying about something you aren't going to remember a few months from now anyway. Love is the guy who is learning a lesson here, not you. Save the scolding for another day and enjoy the new view.
Until later.