WOLVES AWARDS 2012-13

A season that started with such great expectations yet ended with such disappointment still deserves to be feted. So here are my Wolves Award Winners for the 2012-13 season...

MVP – Ricky Rubio

When this guy is on the court, he makes everybody else better, which is what any singular Most Valuable PLAYER should be trying to do in a TEAM sport. When he’s handling the ball, anybody who’s open can expect a pass at any moment, often in spectacular fashion. On defense, he’s adept at stealing the ball and taking charges, always a step ahead. If he finally gets to work reconstructing his broken jump shot, he could be a league threat for MVP. His combo of youth and competitiveness give him room for legit improvement.

Sixth Man – Dante Cunningham

One of the most solid Pups on the roster this season, Cunningham played hard both ways and never took a night off. He gave the Wolves 8.7 points and 5.1 rebounds, and the infectious kind of hustle that often ignites the kind of spark competitive teams need in second unit leaders.

Most Improved – Derrick Williams

Another slow start turned into steady improvement in the season’s second half for the Wolves second-year forward. His athleticism is top notch, and he began using it to finish around the rim more as the season wore on. He’s still subpar on D, but he’s still just 21 years old. If he’d’ve stayed in college he’d be a senior next season. If I were new GM Flip Saunders, I’d keep Williams and trade Love for the best shooting guard Love could buy. The Wolves have a higher ceiling with Ricky as the de facto leader rather than Love, anyway.

A very happy Pi Press photo.

Rookie of the Year – Alexey Shved

Forced into playing more minutes this season than he should’ve made Shved look worse than he is at times, but he averaged 8.6 points per game over the whole season, was one of the few healthy Wolves (despite his sleight frame, the biggest knock on him coming in), and he has a nice shot from outside though he went cold as the season wore on. He could be a nice sixth man scorer and passer off the bench with continued improvement.

Coaches’ Award – Andrei Kirilenko

The coaches’ award always went to the hustling, glue-y, good guy on every high school squad I’ve ever been a part of. This has got Andrei’s name all over it. He sort of swooned and succumbed to various injuries as the season went on, like many other Wolves in 12-13, but when he was out there, you could count on him. I hope the Wolves get three more good years out of him somehow.

Swagger Award – J.J. Barea

Barea is a guy I run hot and cold on—loving him when he actually passes (which is rare, though he is capable) and hits threes, hating him when he overdribbles and horses up garbage down low that gets swatted after exasperating overdribbling. But you gotta give the musclebound little gnat credit: He’s got swagger. One of my favorite moments was when he bull-charged Ray Allen and then scoffed at Ray-Ray when Ray-Ray threw a little fit. Which was fitting, because everybody knows Barea would floor Ray-Ray in a fight, if it came to that. Plus, and I know this is old news, but doesn’t he date Miss Universe? That’s swagger.

Mr. Reliable – Luke Ridnour

The Matador is a real turnstile on D, but I like his pluck, and he’s been surprisingly reliable over his three seasons in Minny thus far, averaging between 11 and 12 ppg, shooting a high percentage from three and from the line, and consistently doing more than he should be asked to do. He was the only T-Wolf to play all 82 games in 12-13, starting them all. And in an injury-riddled season, that’s even more impressive.

Mr. Energy – Chris Johnson

Picking this lanky, shot-blocking, rim-rattling, lightning bolt of a back-up center was a great move for the Wolves this season. When he was in, their was more electricity on the team. Unfortunately, Adelman hated playing him, it seemed. There must be a reason, but I haven’t figured it out yet.  He’s 27 years old. I’d give him another year here.

No-Nonsense Award – Nikola Pekovic

Love this guy’s attitude, look, and production. Love his tattoos. I’m not sure he’s a championship defender—which seems to be the best reason to employ a center in today’s NBA. I’m also worried that the little injuries he routinely suffers are a bad sign that his considerably burly body could break down. The Wolves’ll have a tough decision on their hands this offseason if somebody offers him big bucks that they have the right to match in Pek’s restricted free agency.

Best Name - Mickaël Gelabale

It's just fun to say. And fun to hear my boys call him Jell-o Balls, because they really think that's his name. And he wasn't too bad of an emergency pick-up player. Kind of like a poor man's Latrell Sprewell, without the choking and bad attitude.

LVP – Kevin Love

Oh how I wish Kevin Love possessed a greater reservoir of humility. The 18 games he played this year cost the Wolves $13.7 million. And that’s pretty poor value, deserving of the designation of Least Valuable Player, to me. Oh, and when he wasn’t playing, he was talking shit about his owner and GM and teammates and franchise. Or breaking his hand on somebody else's face. Or waiting to have ill-timed knee surgery. Or Tweeting. You want to put the right value on Love? Here’s a checklist:

Excellent rebounder. Above average three-point shooter for a power forward. Defensive liability. Referee abuser and whiner. Floor-bound clod with a limited post game. Black hole. Self-gratifying attention seeker.  Out-of-touch, over-hyped youth. Trade bait.

Ugliest Jumper – Greg Stiemsma

Okay, this isn’t very nice. And Stiemer barely beats Rubio in this category. I actually like Greg. His work ethic, hustle, shot-blocking, foul-taking, rebounding, and elbow-giving. But when he tries to shoot from anywhere further out than four feet, I want to puke. The arms straighten too quickly, the jump is mistimed, and the ball seems to deflate as it wobbles through the air on the way to the hoop. As Oscar Schmidt, the great Brazilian Olympic shooter once said, “Some people, they play the piano. Some people, they move the piano.” Put your gloves and work boots on, Greg. You got pianos to move.

Most Uninspired Performance – Kevin Love, Yahoo article

Love spouting off to Adrian Wojnarowski  in an ill-timed article during the season was a petulant move by the Wolves’ lone (barf) All-Star. Among my least favorite quotes:

  "I don't know who labels people stars, but even [T'wolves owner] Glen Taylor said: I don't think Kevin Love is a star, because he hasn't led us to the playoffs," Love told Yahoo! Sports. "I mean, it's not like I had much support out there. That's a tough pill to swallow."

"I have a very, very good memory, and I always remember the people who have done right by me, and the people who have done wrong by me," he says. "It will be embedded in my brain, and something I won't forget about. There's no telling what will happen. I would love to compete for a championship in Minnesota, but …"

You want legit respect? Make a playoff run with your team. Then talk.

Biggest Disappointment – Injuries to 2-Guards

Brandon Roy, Chase Budinger, and Josh Howard all briefly manned the two-guard slot for the Wolves in 12-13.  They all went down with major injuries, unfortunately, which left the likes of Luke Ridnour (a back-up point), Alexey Shved (a Russian rookie), or JJ Barea (a gnat) playing the two. The Wolves were right to go hard after Nic Batum last offseason, who had a fine year in Portland and would’ve fit nicely in Minny. This position should be the main one to shore up this offseason.

Best Game – Brooklyn or Indy

The Wolves busted the Nets’ asses in Brooklyn with a monstrous 32-10 fourth quarter to cap an amazing 107-96 comeback win on November 5, just three games into the season. It was an especially satisfying win since the Wolves did it with, mostly, their bench—in particular Shved, Budinger, Barea, and Cunningham. But then just four days later, the Wolves took out the Pacers at Target Center on a last-second Andrei Kirilenko-to-ChaseBudinger lay-in that raised the Wolves’ record to 4-1 and gave T-Wolves fans, who were just weeks away from getting back both Love and Rubio, hope to burn.

Worst Game – Laker No-Call Against Kobe Bryant 

Apparently it wasn’t bad enough that Kobe Bryant ran over Ricky Rubio (wrecking Rubio’s knee in the process) only to have the refs call a block on Rubio, which gave the Lakers a cheap win over the Wolves at Target Center in the Spring of 2012. I guess the refs decided that, one year later, they’d pull the same shit, letting Kobe get away with a grievous hack on alast-second Rubio three-point attempt with the Wolves down 120-117 in the spring of 2013 at Target Center. 

Worse yet: It was the Wolves’ 22 loss in a row to the Lakers, a streak that dates back to March of 2007. 

Worser yet: Kobe’s quote following the game. “That’s not a foul,” said Bryant. “They ain’t calling that shit. I don’t think I got him. That’s a tough call to make… even if the refs gave it to him, we still would’ve won it in overtime. 

Worstest yet: The NBA admitted that the refs blew the call in an official league statement two days later…which meant absolutely nothing in reality.

Best Individual Play - Rubio Behind-The-Back x 2

Ricky’s double behind-the-back dribble drive and scoop versus the Spurs late in the season. The most beautiful in a season’s worth of sweet Rubio-themed Wolves highlights in 2012-13. 

Pups Whip Spurs...To End Painful Season

D-Will, Finishing Things in San Antone. AP Photo.

  A 2012-13 Minnesota Timberwolves season that started with great expectations ended April 17, 2013, with a meaningless 108-95 ass-whuppin' of the San Antonio Spurs, second-best team in the Western Conference. Not since 2004 had the T-Wolves won in San Antonio, a streak that lasted 16 games over eight seasons--and apparently meant nothing to the championship-contending Spurs who rested stars Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker the entire fourth quarter.
  The Wolves were led by second-year forward Derrick Williams who finished the game with a team-high 21 tallies and the season with strong statement that he--not prima donna, knuckle-busting, lip-flapping, glory-hounding Kevin Love--could be the premier T-Wolves forward of the future.
  While the Wolves head to the lottery for the ninth straight season, their 31-51 final regular season record marks the first time they've topped 30 victories in a season since 2006-07--yet another utterly pathetic statistic. The Spurs, meanwhile, will visit the playoffs for the 16th straight season, this year as a strong contender once again.
  Stay tuned for a season-ending special from LeBounce, coming this weekend.

Warriors Blast Wolves, Love Scopes Knee

Andrei, having trouble.

  The Wolves played an absolutely terrible third quarter last night versus the Warriors, letting a close game completely slip away which led to a 105-89 loss. Sure, it shouldn't really matter since the Wolves are out of the playoffs and Adelman's 1000th win is secured and the Warriors were playing to clinch their first playoff appearance in a number of years. But, really, it just crystallized this season for me. I've never had such personal excitement for the Wolves turn into such stomach pain.

THE UGLINESS
  This team's hard to watch, Ricky Rubio's hustle plays and occasional slick passing aside. Ricky, in partic, has had his faulty jumper absolutely exposed the last two games, going 1-for-13 against Detroit and then 0-for-10 against the Warriors from the field. Those types of games usually happen maybe once or twice a season to accomplished players, not in back to back games. And not as many times as Ricky has had these shooting disaster nights happen to him. I LOVE Ricky's floor game, desire, and defense, but his perimeter shot is a gaping weakness at this point. It can be fixed up, but until it is, Ricky's gonna have problems helping the Wolves win.
  Kirilenko and Shved, the Russian help, have really faded as the season's gone on. I understand how winning tends to help everything, and when the Wolves started the season well, these two guys were two of the biggest factors. But Kirilenko's not getting any younger, and injuries have been a definite problem with him, and Shved's streakiness, shooting-wise, can be as appalling as his inability to get any calls or slump-shouldered-ness when he doesn't. These problems have cut into this pair's helpful contributions of hustle, D, court sense, and winning attitude.
  JJ Barea and Luke Ridnour are both so undersized it hurts sometimes, and the Wolves' injuries have forced Adelman to play the both of them much more than a winning team should. It hurts that they're kind of redundant, position-wise, too. At least they ain't quitters, I guess.
  Greg Stiemsma is a fine banger, but the least attractive Wolves offensive possession these days ends with him clanking his flat-footed, slingshot, no-arch, mud-balled jumper from 15 feet or beyond. Why he even attempts these--ever--befuddles me at best, makes me wince and leave the room at worst. Know yer role, Greg. Shot blocks, rebounds, picks, forearm shivers.

Love, riding pine.

  Kevin Love. Boy, great news that you decided on knee surgery just as your hand is healing up, Kev. That's straight up bullshit. Why not get it scoped back in February? Why the charade about wanting to play this year? Why, again, were you complaining about the Wolves not giving you an extra year on your contract, when you wasted the shit out of this year--an important-as-hell year that was integral in capitalizing on genuine fan interest for the first time in ages? Bad move, Kevin. Bad moves. If he wants to regain any true love from the fans, he better come back absatively better than ever. I still hope we trade him.


THE HOPE

Pek, kicking butt.

  The level of hurt Ricky seems to be going through with each mounting loss should drive him to fix up that J.

  Derrick Williams has come to the gym with his sneakers tied tight recently. Another year or two and he could be a beast if he keeps steadily improving. Defense is a glaring shortcoming, but with his athletic ability, good defense is just a ratcheted-up attitude away.

  Shved has potential, and he got way more playing time than he should've this season, which hopefully translates into a quicker ascension to usefulness.

  Coach Adelman comes back. More specifically, his wife's health improves. Here's hoping.

  The Wolves do what the Gophers couldn't and acquire the services of Flip Saunders to take over as GM for the expiring Kahn, and, eventually, the soon-retiring Adelman on the bench. 

  The Wolves chances of retaining Nikola Pekovic seem high. Just recently chosen as Western Conference Player of the Week, Pek has shown a dominant game as of late. I think he's still improving, too. I love his ruggedness, and I like that he seems to enjoy being in Minnesota, unlike another faux-rugged 6-foot-10'er on the team.

Nice Life: 1000 Wins and a Dear Wife

Coach A and his wife, Mary Kay.

  Coach Rick Adelman has been beleaguered like the rest of his Timberwolves team this unfortunate basketball season of 2012-13, missing time early in 2013 while attending to his wife Mary Kay, who has been having medical problems, namely mysterious seizures. I have a brother, Tony, who has been dealing with a similar issue with random seizures for a number of years now, and let me say it's been no picnic--not for my brother, most of all, but not for his family, either.
  So it was gratifying to see the Wolves pull out a hard-fought 107-101 win on April 6, 2013, against the plucky (on this night, anyway) Detroit Pistons to give Coach Adelman his 1,000th career win, a milestone that puts him in rarified air with only seven other coaches at this point in NBA history. I've long been a fan of Adelman's court savvy, team management, and consistently level-headed approach to dealing with NBA seasons and players and fans. He's no-nonsense, but he seems to have levity, too.
  Another thing about him I like is the way he seems to cherish his wife. Lots of sports dorks like to pretend they're infallible, that nothing or no one can get in the way of that quest for the championship. But when Mary Kay went down with her health problems earlier in the season, Coach A was obviously stricken. He took time off from coaching right in the middle of the season, he and spent the time he and she needed and more to be with the person that matters most to him, to a person who's been loyal to him through the rigors and crazy travels and schedules of countless NBA seasons. And then, when it seemed she was well enough, he came back to coach this lost team in this lost season. I respect him for that, too.
  I'd be remiss if I didn't pay homage to my own lovely wife here at the end of a seemingly impossibly long and cold winter. Nicole's a person I simply love to be with, love to talk to, can't do without. To her from me, a thousand kisses.

When Superstar Treatment Ruins an Outcome

  We don't like Kobe much in our house. To my kids, he's the guy that broke Ricky's knee. So when Kobe fouled Ricky but the refs didn't call on a potentially game-tying 3ball last night when the Lakers came to town, much booing ensued as the Lakers won 120-117.
  The whole damn season's been a prolonged gut punch, but this one especially took the air out. You know, with the Lakers having beat us the last 200 times. And Kobe being the hero even though he didn't deserve to be. Remember how the officials blew the call by not calling Bryant for a charge against Rubio on the knee injury play last year bout this time? And then Kobe saying: "That's not a foul. They ain't calling that shit. I don't think I got him."
  Replays clearly show Kobe did smack Ricky. The NBA would be 200 times better if refs would just have the guts to make the right call. Like on traveling. Or intentional fouls. Or Ts. On when giving a veteran star a free pass.
  And then Kobe's cocky response after a reporter asked him what would've gotten the call, hit the FTs, and forced OT? "We would have gone into overtime and won the game. It's as simple as that."
  I think I just found a way to like Kobe even less.

Spur Stomp

A rare moment of congratulations from
Leader of the Pack Rick Adelman.

  Yes. Now that was fun. That's how you play some ball. That's how you sock it to the best team in the NBA.
  The T-Wolves' 107-83 win over the Spurs included more highlights than the previous month's-worth of games, most often thanks to Ricky Rubio, he of the 21-12-13 triple double, the first of his NBA career. Two of Ricky's plays were top ten of his career so far, including a heady behind-the-back bounce job to D-Will in the first half and a double behind-the-back dribble drive and lefty scoop in the second half. Ricky Boy is playing better and better, and that includes his defense, which is enthrallingly anticipatory to the max, and, on this night anyway, his shooting. He even threw in a nice halftime buzzer-beating banker after getting fouled a couple times with no call.
  Chris Johnson provided a jolt in the paint for the Woofers, recording 5 blocks in the first half and a sideways alley jam that you probably ought to youtube, or, better yet if you want great hightlights, nba.com.  Even Alexey Shved came out of his shell to knock down 6 of 8 from the field with 7 assists in the best game he's played since the All-Star break, hands down.
  All in all, it was the most pleasant Wolves effort I've witnessed in a long time, and a breath of fresh air.

NATE'S NOTES...Speaking of fresh air, Nick Healy came over for the game with his younguns, Harry and Erin. Great peeps. I don't honestly remember the last time the Wolves lost when I watched a game with Healy... Healy said that Chris Johnson's "fly swat" reminded him of the legend of Dave Winfield supposedly swatting a shot into the upper deck at Williams Arena back in his Gopher Hoops days. Could that have really happened? I've also heard Healy tell about the legend of a youthful Paul Molitor once throwing a snowball over St Paul's Cathedral. I've also read a lot of Healy's fictional short stories... I'm not getting paid by Summit to write this, but I'd just like to say that what they did with that Saga Unchained offering was something wonderful. Summit Sagas go well with Wolves wins.

Nuggets With Sauce

  Denver can play. For the record, I'd pick them right now for my de facto NBA darkhorse that could easily surprise any and everyone in the coming 2012-13 playoffs. From an excellent, cancer-beating coach in George Karl to a well-rounded team that's as good on offense as it is on D to a deep bench to a fierce home-court advantage, the Nuggets got it going on.
  The TWolves are actually one of only three teams to beat the Nuggets in 31 games in the Mile High City this season. They played tough in the first half and then fell apart a little in the third quarter, but--as often is the case--mounted a gutsy comeback in the fourth quarter.

Rubio, most likely milliseconds before
having McGhee toss his shit five rows up.

  The game, which ended up 111-88 in Denver's favor, turned for good with roughly nine minutes remaining. The Wolves had been down hard with Denver threatening to throttle them when the Luke Ridnour found himself with a wide open threeball in the left corner that, if converted, would've cut the Nuggets' lead to six. Luke, though, clanged the back iron and failed to get back on D as the ball bounded long and the Nuggies threw a TD pass to former Wolf Corey Brewer (he of a solid-looking big boy beard that gives him a much needed edge to that ever-smiling face, if not a bit of extra weight) for the cramberry jam. Another Sota "empty possession" (droll Wolves play-by-play stooge Dave Benz's verbal tic of a phrase for when the Wolves fail to score...which happens, uh, a lot) and a threeball by Ty Lawson (draftee of the TWolves in the Rubio-Jonny Flynn draft) later, and the Wolves are down fourteen, just like that. Another minute and a half later the gap balloons to 23. So, yeah, could have easily been a six-point spread with 9 minutes but ended up being 23 with 6 minutes. A quick death. An inglorious guillotine of a demise for the Wolves.
  Go Nuggets. Beat the Thunder and Spurs.

NATE'S NOTES...Some entertaining sauciness from both Adelman and Karl in the fourth quarter when both of them nearly busted a respective nut in picking up fourth quarter Ts. Karl, in partic, really spazzed out and had to be briefly restrained from charging the ref, who was walking away and didn't even really see Karl's eye-bugging reaction... JaVale McGhee made the play of the night when he (an athletic albeit clodhoppin' 7-foot-plus behemoth) picked the pocket of Rubio (a ball wizard if ever there was) on the perimeter and then went coast to coast for a turkey dinner. He also had two or three other demoralizing dunks and sit-yo-ass-down swats... Wolves center Chris Johnson is athletic, but damn raw. He gives the Wolves more of a chance to compete than, say, Greg Stiemsma, but he gets mad or embarrassed and loses his mind fairly easily and often, most likely goaltending shots or taking huge, swinging swipes on block attempts that simply aren't necessary... Dave Benz is my new Robby Incmacrapski. He's just straight up clueless about hoops and has zero feel for the game. I can see him on the speech team in about ninth grade, wishing he could be on the ball team. He tries hard, sure, but come on Fox Sports North. Jim Peterson, no trophy talker himself, seems pissed he has to work with Benz and constantly reel him back in from constant bonerific statements. But Peterson gets no pass, either. I've had it up to here with his intolerance of Alexey Shved. Jim, he's a rookie, he's from Russia, he's hit the wall, he gets no calls. But he's been healthy all season, he's got game, and he should figure heavily into the Wolves' rotation the next few seasons--give him a damn break. Or better yet, go interview his ass and get his perspective.