Minnesota Timberwolves fans would never boo Glen Taylor like Warriors fans booed Joe Lacob. Right?
Minnesota Timberwolves (25-30) vs. Golden State Warriors (20-32) at Target Center
Remember when David Kahn took 587 point guards in the 2009 NBA Draft? We could use one of those right about now. Maybe even Jonny Flynn, although I'm not sure I'm that desperate.
Unfortunately, with Luke Ridnour out, J.J. Barea questionable and Ricky Rubio starting his knee rehab, the Wolves are down to Malcolm Lee as the only healthy "point guard" on the roster. Considering that Lee has played a total of 95 career minutes, has had 10 career assists and 9 career turnovers, this is less than encouraging news.
The Wolves are also 4 1/2 games behind Houston for the 8th playoff spot with only 11 games left to play. More importantly, Utah is 1 game behind Houston for that playoff spot. The Jazz need to make the playoffs in order for the Wolves to get their 1st round pick. Just in case you have NBA League Pass, Utah plays Phoenix tonight in Salt Lake City at 8 PM.
[Update: J.J. Barea will start tonight, according to Rick Adelman]
Malcolm Lee versus Charles Jenkins: the Point Guard Matchup of the Century
Projected Starting Lineups
C: Nikola Pekovic vs. Andris Biedrins
PF: Kevin Love vs. David Lee
SF: Wesley Johnson vs. Dorell Wright
SG: Martell Webster vs. Klay Thompson
PG: J.J. Barea vs. Charles Jenkins
Starting Brad Miller is usually a good sign that your team's playoff aspirations are dead.
Last 5 Games
Minnesota Timberwolves (5th in Northwest, 16 behind OKC; 12th in West, 4 1/2 behind HOU)
Tue, Mar 27: Loss at Memphis 86-93
Wed, Mar 28: Win at Charlotte 88-83
Fri, Mar 30: Loss vs. Boston 79-100
Sun, Apr 1: Loss at Portland 106-119
Mon, Apr 2: Loss at Sacramento 108-116
Golden State Warriors (4th in Pacific, 13 behind LAL; 13th in West, 8 behind HOU)
Tue, Mar 27: Loss vs. LA Lakers 101-104
Wed, Mar 28: Loss vs. New Orleans 87-102
Fri, Mar 30: Loss vs. New Jersey 100-102
Sun, Apr 1: Loss at LA Lakers 112-120
Tue, Apr 3: Loss at Memphis 94-98
Not exactly sure when Darko had an opportunity to strain his hamstring...
Injuries
Minnesota Timberwolves
J.J. Barea - Probable with a bruised right thigh
Michael Beasley - Doubtful with a sprained left big toe
Darko Milicic - Doubtful with a strained right hamstring
Luke Ridnour - Out with a sprained right ankle
Ricky Rubio - Out for the remainder of the season
Golden State Warriors
Andrew Bogut - Out for remainder of the season
Stephen Curry - Out indefinitely with a sprained ankle
I don't understand why the Wolves haven't cut Anthony Randolph and signed a free agent guard to a 10-day contract while Ridnour recovers.
Noteworthy Stats
- Among players who have played fewer than 300 minutes, Anthony Randolph has the 13th highest PER (16.8). Patrick Mills has played 31 minutes and has a 31.8 PER
- Kevin Love has averaged 31.4 points and 13.1 rebounds over the past 7 games. In the last game against Golden State on March 19th, Love had 36 points and 15 rebounds
- Golden State has lost 6 games in a row, but David Lee is averaging 25.4 points and 8.2 rebounds during that stretch
Instead of Monday night's thumping of the Kansas Jayhawks by the Kentucky Wildcats, it would've been nice to have some Keith Smart-like drama to watch.
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