SLAM Magazine's re-imaginged Marbury/Garnett cover with Rubio/Love is very well done. You should buy a copy for that alone.
Minnesota Timberwolves (20-19) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (19-19) at Target Center
Tonight, the Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Portland Trail Blazers for the second time in 5 days. The Wolves opened that game with a 40-28 1st quarter, gave back the lead before halftime, and ended the game with a 38-28 4th quarter. Near his hometown of Lake Oswego, Oregon, Kevin Love destroyed his fellow All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge. Love put up numbers of 42-10-4, while Aldridge mustered 14-7-4.
In my opinion, K-Love has to be entered into the MVP discussion. Is he in the top-3? Probably not. Is putting him in the top-5 a homer pick? More than likely. Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Dwight Howard are all certainly having MVP-worthy seasons. But with the Wolves only a game away from the playoffs, and with the next three best players on the Wolves being in their 1st or 2nd years, what Love is doing merits consideration.
Is there really any question about who is the best power forward in the NBA?
Projected Starting Lineups
C: Darko Milicic vs. Marcus Camby
PF: Kevin Love vs. LaMarcus Aldridge
SF: Wesley Johnson vs. Gerald Wallace
SG: Luke Ridnour vs. Nicolas Batum
PG: Ricky Rubio vs. Raymond Felton
I hope this means that Nicolas Batum is choosing the Minnesota Timberwolves to be his next team.
Last 5 Games
Portland Trail Blazers (4th in NW, 11 gms behind OKC; 10th in West, 1 1/2 gms behind 8 seed)
Tue, Feb 21: Win vs. San Antonio 137-97
Wed, Feb 29: Loss at Denver 95-104
Thu, Mar 1: Loss vs. Miami 93-107
Sat, Mar 3: Loss vs. Minnesota 110-122
Mon, Mar 5: Win vs. New Orleans 86-74
Minnesota Timberwolves (3rd in NW, 10 1/2 gms behind OKC; 9th in West, 1 gm behind 8 seed)
Tue, Feb 28: Win at LA Clippers 109-97
Wed, Feb 29: Loss at LA Lakers 85-104
Thu, Mar 1: Loss at Phoenix 95-104
Sat, Mar 3: Win at Portland 122-110
Mon, Mar 5: Win vs. LA Clippers 95-94
Injury reports say Pekovic has a sore right foot. For Pek, a sore foot means that it was hacked off at the bone and re-attached using a needle, some thread and a roll of duct tape.
Injuries
Portland Trail Blazers
Greg Oden - Out for season with left knee surgery
Minnesota Timberwolves
Nikola Pekovic - Questionable with a sore right foot/ankle
The Wolves keep climbing up the Northwest Division standings. Next up: Denver
Noteworthy Stats
- '11-'12 stats for Ryan Gomes and Martell Webster, both in their seventh NBA seasons:
Gomes: 30 gms played, 6.4 pts and 5.2 rebs per-36, .378 TS%, -0.016 WS/48, 4.9 PER
Webster: 20 gms player, 12.5 pts and 4.9 rebs per-36, .538 TS%, .092 WS/48, 11.4 PER - Assuming Gerald Wallace accepts his player option, and that the Blazers do not re-sign any of their own free agents, they will have $40,682,940 in committed salaries this summer (#'s via HoopsHype.com).
- If the Wolves decline the options on Webster and Brad Miller, and do not resign Michael Beasley, Anthony Randolph or Anthony Tolliver, they will have approximately $50 million in committed salaries this summer (depending upon Kevin Love's exact first year amount via his extension)
- The Trail Blazers have won 8 straight games at the Target Center since March 25, 2007, and have won by an average of 17.2 points in their last five visits
- The lowest winning percentage that the Wolves could finish the season with is .303, which would be the highest win % the team has had since 2006-2007. If the Wolves win seven more games (27-39), they would have the team's best win% since 2004-2005.
The seat has to be getting hot, right Nate? Looks like the Blazers should've kept Rick Adelman after all.