Return of the Rubio

     Isn't it nice to watch basketball played with ease? With flair? With joy?
     With leader of the pack Ricky Rubio back in place, the Timberwolves downed the Dallas Mavs in OT Saturday night at Target Center. Though the Spirited Spaniard played a mere 18 minutes out of the 48 minutes possible, he dictated the tone of the way this game was played, had a hand in the outcome, and reminded those who tuned in why basketball is the best game out there. I mean, really, beauty-wise in Minnesota sports, who can beat Tricky Ricky on the fast break? Maybe the Vikes' Adrian Peterson cracking off a long run complete with a juke or two, a broken tackle, or a stiff arm. A Twins' Ben Revere wall catch is now a thing of the past. But then when Ricky does that five or six times in 18 minutes of court time in his return from an ACL tear? No contest.
     Beyond the 9 assists, 8 points, and 3 steals Rubio put up, he repeatedly made his teammates look great by passing to them for open shots. Luke Ridnour's never had more open threes in a game, nor has JJ Barea, and the pass he threw to Greg Stiemsma between his legs was a unbelievable beaut. He fed Pek a laser for a lay-up that tied the game with less than a minute left and nearly won it with a gutsy threeball in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter before the game went to OT and the Wolves' defense took control.
     Absent from the game was one Kevin Love thanks to a sprained thumb suffered the night before in the win in New Orleans. Probably fortuitous for Minnesota, the way Love's been shooting (and acting). Other Wolves stepped up their games, including Kirilenko (who was all over the court), Derrick Williams (who had 16 points and 6 boards in 19 minutes after collecting a lot of dust on the bench the last couple weeks), Greg Stiemsma (three blocks, a pair of buckets, and some necessary toughness against Derek Fisher in a mere four minutes on the court), and Alexey Shved (18 points and 6 assists and the first two points of overtime, which set the tone for the Wolves' endgame runaway, in only his second career start).
     I love this team, and I had a great time watching the game in my living room with my minis and my wife. Archie, in particular, (wearing TWolves headband and shorts) logged more than two hours of time on the TV room hoop, throwing 48 behind-the-back passes to me in the rocking chair and throwing down 213 dunks on the night.
     We love Ricky around here. Ricky loves the game and treats it right.

P.S.: Saw an emotional moment from the closing seconds of the Boston at Houston game Friday night where Kevin Garnett paid a visit to the opponents' bench to offer love to his former GM and mentor Kevin McHale, current coach of the Rockets who recently lost his 23-year-old daughter to lupus. Yeah, these guys never fulfilled promising expectations as main cogs in the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise from the mid-90s through the mid-2000s. But sometimes, you have to stop and appreciate, especially in the midst of sorrow, which is certainly on all Americans' minds in the wake of yesterday's Connecticut schoolshooting, which is now dominating the news.
     Kevin Garnett was a great player with the Wolves for 12 years, and he brought fans a lot of joy.
     Kevin McHale and his wingman Flip Saunders had a great run of winners in Minnesota, a franchise that was in tatters before them and has been after them. I imagine the pain McHale's feeling these days is as close to unbearable as it gets.