Game Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves (6-19) Brave the Phoenix Sun (11-12)

by Wil Cantrell on Dec 15, 2010 12:39 PM MST in Phoenix Suns: Game Coverage

Something evidently called a blizzard happened in Minnesota over the weekend. I guess it's a cold weather thing which desert rats like me don't quite understand. However I am fairly certain the Minnesota Timberwolves are overjoyed to come out West and play basketball to escape this raining snow situation. But will 80 degrees be too hot for them? I'm guessing the climate will favor the Suns in this one. Of course I've been wrong before.

Tonight the Suns face the number one rebounding team in the league. The good news is Robin Lopez is slated to start. Of course, this is bad news for those of you who already purchased your Earl Barron jerseys. Don't worry, he may still get some time off the pine before he's jetisoned back to the D-Leagues or wherever his next destination will be. Plus, you'll have an excellent Suns obscurity to break out when entertaining friends and family.

Aside from the obvious questions such as how ready is Robin, how effective can he be after the injury and layoff, The Suns have some other pressing questions:

Whose the odd man out in the rotation?: Who out of the logjam of 3's gets the short end of the stick.? While J-Chill and Dudz are better defenders than Hedo, Turk has attributes that neither of the other two have. Namely some alleged playmaking ability and some serious 4th quarter stones.
What about Hakim? Will WarMachine's defensive liabilities continue to limit his court time?
Has a few days off and a few days of practice put Jason Richardson in the right frame of mind to get hot again? Rich put up 7 straight games of 20+ points and at least 7 field goals made in a Suns 5-2 stretch. And we all know the Suns are 189-2 when rich plays good and all that.

The Timberwolves present some obvious front court challenges for the Suns. Kevin Love is the second coming of Rodman (in the rebounding sense), only with less piercings, tats, and strange phone calls into radio stations for no apparant reason other than to flaunt the fact he had a hooker with him. Darko's a load to deal with and is coming off of a 25 and 11 game. Michael Beasley is bringing 21 points per game, good for second in the league among forwards.

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Michael Beasley	23	33.3	8.7	18.3	47.2	0.8	2.2	38.0	3.0	4.4	69.3	1.7	4.3	6.1	1.5	2.8	0.8	0.8	3.7	21.2
Kevin Love	25	35.1	6.8	15.4	44.5	1.3	3.1	41.0	5.3	6.0	88.0	4.8	10.8	15.6	2.2	2.4	0.5	0.5	2.1	20.2
Martell Webster	1	26.0	6.0	8.0	75.0	2.0	2.0	100.0	3.0	5.0	60.0	0.0	5.0	5.0	2.0	5.0	1.0	0.0	3.0	17.0
Luke Ridnour	20	28.5	3.9	8.4	46.1	1.1	2.5	44.0	1.8	2.0	90.0	0.5	2.1	2.6	5.0	2.0	1.2	0.2	1.9	10.6
Darko Milicic	24	26.5	4.2	9.6	43.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.3	2.1	62.7	2.3	3.9	6.1	2.0	2.3	0.5	2.7	3.3	9.8
Corey Brewer	25	24.9	3.1	8.6	35.8	0.6	1.9	29.2	2.4	3.3	74.4	0.8	2.2	3.0	1.6	1.3	1.8	0.2	2.6	9.2
Wesley Johnson	25	28.4	3.4	8.0	43.2	1.2	3.3	36.6	0.8	1.3	63.6	1.0	2.4	3.4	1.9	1.5	0.4	0.6	2.8	8.9
Sebastian Telfair	24	21.7	2.8	6.5	42.7	0.8	2.0	38.3	1.3	1.8	72.7	0.3	1.0	1.3	3.6	2.0	0.7	0.1	1.8	7.7
Wayne Ellington	19	18.5	2.6	6.3	42.0	0.9	2.1	42.5	0.4	0.7	61.5	0.2	1.3	1.5	0.8	0.9	0.6	0.0	1.5	6.6
Anthony Tolliver	19	18.7	1.9	4.3	45.1	0.7	1.7	43.8	1.7	2.2	78.6	1.2	2.9	4.1	1.3	0.9	0.4	0.5	2.1	6.4
Nikola Pekovic	16	13.8	2.2	4.6	47.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.3	1.9	70.0	1.8	1.4	3.2	0.3	1.6	0.1	0.7	3.0	5.7
Jonny Flynn	1	16.0	1.0	2.0	50.0	1.0	2.0	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	4.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.0
Sundiata Gaines	7	9.1	1.0	3.1	31.8	0.3	0.9	33.3	0.7	1.1	62.5	0.1	0.7	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.4	0.0	0.6	3.0
Kosta Koufos	20	7.0	1.0	2.3	44.4	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.4	0.5	70.0	0.8	0.9	1.7	0.1	0.6	0.2	0.3	1.2	2.4
Lazar Hayward	15	7.5	0.5	2.3	20.0	0.3	1.1	23.5	0.5	0.7	80.0	0.7	0.8	1.5	0.6	0.3	0.3	0.2	1.0	1.7

I'd love to break out some highly technical analysis on this one, but we all know what has to happen for the Suns to win: body up the T-Wolve bigs, hit some shots, and play with some heart. And for the heck of it, check this quote out:

"Our team needs to learn that if they don't play hard every night, we are not going to win...We did not give a maximum effort. We gave them too many second chance opportunities and turned the ball over too many times."

Sound familiar? Well that was T-Wolves Coach Kurt Rambis. Of course it could have been Alvin Gentry, or virtually anyone in the league.

Numbers are Fun:

The Wolves have dropped 25 of 26 games on the road, dating back to last season
The Suns have won five straight over Minnesota by an average of 18 points and have won seven of the past eight meetings in in Phoenix.
The Suns haven't lost 3 in a row at US Airways Center since Jan. 16-31, 2009

Game Day Links:

AZCentral: Lopez to Start:

Asked how the 255-pound 7-footer has looked in the final stages of his comeback, Frye grinned and said: "Great. That boy is crazy. He's everywhere. I forgot how big and long and active he is. "I think that's the biggest thing. He helps us in practice rebounding, and him and Garret (Siler, 6-11, 305) just go at it, it's like Godzilla and King Kong down there."

MN Star Tribune:
Beasley's all dressed up but has a long way to go:

The Wolves' new go-to scorer wears a headband, dreadlocks, tattoos that make his entire body look like a Ren & Stimpy cartoon, pads on his right elbow, ribs and tailbone, and white sleeves with shin pads on both calves.

Timberwolves vs Suns coverage

Timberwolves vs Suns preview

Canis Hoopus

[Note by Seth Pollack, 12/15/10 4:33 PM MST ]

Nash has been using this time off to try and get his body right:

Phoenix Suns Schedule Kindly Delivers The Minnesota Timberwolves - SB Nation Arizona
"Since I got hurt, I've been shooting like 20 percent from three, so it's been really difficult for me. Hopefully, if I get healthy again, I can obviously shoot it better," Nash said about his 2-for-10 three-point shooting so far in the month of December.

And more on the Grant Hill is Awesome story

Steve Nash Agrees, Grant Hill Having His Best Season As A Phoenix Sun - SB Nation Arizona
The case for Grant Hill to be in the NBA All-Star consideration goes beyond the numbers. His coach and MVP teammate Steve Nash are, not surprisingly, two of his biggest supporters, but that doesn't mean either is just blindly blowing smoke when it comes to Grant's play. These are the guys that go to battle each game with Grant and understand better than anyone how well he's playing.

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Comments

I hope Michael Beasley scores 50 and the Suns win big

I love the guy.

Signed,

K-Stater for life.

RIP Seasons of Discontent

by Scott Howard on Dec 15, 2010 12:41 PM MST reply actions 1 recs

I love you Wil.

From Anonymous.

Hedo Turkoglu is my new favourite.

by keify34 on Dec 15, 2010 12:43 PM MST reply actions 1 recs

omaha sun, is that you?

Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx

by Wil Cantrell on Dec 15, 2010 12:51 PM MST up reply actions

Nope.

Good try though.

Anthony Tolliver says "Get that weak stuff outta here!"

EXTEND JASON RICHARDSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Omaha Sun on Dec 15, 2010 7:04 PM MST up reply actions

are you one of the hackers trying to protect wikileaks?

happy holidays everyone.

by 2NASHTY on Dec 15, 2010 2:33 PM MST up reply actions

We must all protect Wikileaks in its quest to leak classified documents. Bless you, Wikileaks.

by 8472species on Dec 15, 2010 3:13 PM MST up reply actions

Over/Under 15 rebounds for Love?

by Smoooth Criminal on Dec 15, 2010 12:46 PM MST reply actions

I'm gonna say over

Because that’s below his season average. I think probably somewhere between 18-21 sounds about right. If the Suns take care of business, though, he might go under while he’s watching the game from the bench with the Suns leading by 30.

Never confuse activity with achievement.

by Jim Coughenour on Dec 15, 2010 2:05 PM MST up reply actions

I am going w/ the under

based mostly on circumstances…

TWolves played last night and Suns have had three days to prepare. Gentry is WELL aware of Kevin Love and is going to emphasis keeping a body on him all night. They will be able to mostly match him with size (Frye and Robin) as well.

Now, when the Suns play the TWolves next time, I might go over but tonight I think they hold him in check.

Raising Arizona Sports at SB Nation Arizona twitter: @sethpo

by Seth Pollack on Dec 15, 2010 4:37 PM MST up reply actions

He got 16

What do I win? How about .2 seconds for the Knicks… Unreal. Maybe Amare took some of that anti Phoenix voodoo with him.

Never confuse activity with achievement.

by Jim Coughenour on Dec 15, 2010 9:52 PM MST up reply actions

I’ll miss the game, but I’m confident that the Suns will not throw it away to such a poor team. Kevin Love can rebound all he wants.

by 8472species on Dec 15, 2010 1:35 PM MST reply actions

if Warrick is Amare-lite, he must posterize Tolliver

Oh, I see the Wolves have Anthony Tolliver. If he happens to be in position at any time, Hakim Warrick should give us more reason to call him Amare-lite, by viciously posterizing Tolliver.

by 8472species on Dec 15, 2010 1:37 PM MST reply actions

think Tolliver is injured

Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx

by Wil Cantrell on Dec 15, 2010 1:44 PM MST up reply actions

Too bad. Seeing him crushed again, by Stoudemire’s replacement, would be hilarious.

by 8472species on Dec 15, 2010 1:50 PM MST up reply actions

No it would not.

Anthony Tolliver says "Get that weak stuff outta here!"

EXTEND JASON RICHARDSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Omaha Sun on Dec 15, 2010 7:06 PM MST up reply actions

You're quite right.

Tolliver’s out for some more weeks yet.

Every real thought on every real subject knocks the wind out of somebody or other. – OWH

by feral on Dec 15, 2010 5:15 PM MST up reply actions

Sad face...

Anthony Tolliver says "Get that weak stuff outta here!"

EXTEND JASON RICHARDSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Omaha Sun on Dec 15, 2010 7:05 PM MST up reply actions

Why haven’t the T-Wolves been contracted yet? They should just get rid of that team, so we can sign Kevin Love.

Don't trade Dudley!

by Beavis 25 on Dec 15, 2010 1:51 PM MST reply actions

Watched some of the T-Wolves/Warriors game last night.

Well, as much as I could stomach, at least. The Warriors were on a losing streak that had lasted longer than the Gulf oil spill did, but managed to pull away from the woeful T-Wolves in the 4th.

All I could think of while watching the T-Wolves was: “Weren’t they mocked for drafting a bunch of point guards in a recent draft? Then why do they have no decent point guards?”

The Suns are rested and at home, playing a bottom feeder team who played the previous night. Not trying to jinx anything, but few games set up as easier wins than this one. There will be much consternation and “we are dooooooooooooomed and/or boooooooooooooooooned” lamenting if we lose to this sorry team.

Redefine Christmas.
http://www.redefinechristmas.org/

by East Bay Ray on Dec 15, 2010 2:03 PM MST reply actions

This might set up as the easiest game of the year

The Suns are coming off 2 months of rest against a team that hasn’t won a road game since 1967. I will be upset if this game is close.

They did get lit up for the Rubio/Flynn picks (which have worked out wonderfully), but that class doesn’t necessarily seem that strong overall.

Maybe Curry, Jennings, or Collison would have been better picks, but if those guys wound up in Minnesota and Rubio/Flynn went elsewhere the roles might have reversed? Didn’t those guys fake their own deaths or change their names when the Wolves drafted them?

Never confuse activity with achievement.

by Jim Coughenour on Dec 15, 2010 2:18 PM MST up reply actions

That’s what I’ve been getting at. The Suns can’t lose unless they throw it away.

by 8472species on Dec 15, 2010 2:22 PM MST up reply actions

or

we’re Booooooooooooned!

happy holidays everyone.

by 2NASHTY on Dec 15, 2010 2:37 PM MST up reply actions

Yes, for some reason.

Living in a bitterly cold city all winter long and playing for one of the league’s perennial laughingstocks doesn’t appeal to young players. It’s mystifying.

Redefine Christmas.
http://www.redefinechristmas.org/

by East Bay Ray on Dec 15, 2010 2:52 PM MST up reply actions 1 recs

Essentially, the PG thing:

They drafted Rubio, whose rights they still have, and then Flynn. They knew Rubio was a longshot, but figured they can wait to either sign him or cash in the rights. The other picks (Lawson, conspicuously) the Wolves made in that same draft were actually already sent to other teams by the time the commish was saying their names, so the idea that Minny was making a huge run on points wasn’t so, er, true. That was more of an ESPN draft night meme.

Flynn started all last year, but it was a questionable pick over Curry as everyone in Minnesota screamed at their TVs upon its being made. He was…. so-so, as rookie PGs go. He looks a bit like Jameer Nelson on the court, and has a pick and roll game that’s underused in Kurt Rambis’s vaunted tricycle offense.

Jonny Upstairs injured his hip this summer, and he’s only returned in the last week or so. And so, until last game the Timberwolves have been playing free agent signee Luke Ridnour and castaway Sebastian Telfair. Ridnour, too, has been injured. For that matter so has Telfair; he’s been in a walking boot between games some of the time.

Every real thought on every real subject knocks the wind out of somebody or other. – OWH

by feral on Dec 15, 2010 5:22 PM MST up reply actions

still think Rubio was a smart pick for a long term strategy…especially since they basically got him for almost nothing (Mike Miller and Randy Foye).

Raising Arizona Sports at SB Nation Arizona twitter: @sethpo

by Seth Pollack on Dec 15, 2010 6:15 PM MST up reply actions

Here's the key from that article on Michael Beasley

“Beasley is a natural power forward. That’s the position Kevin Love plays. I would have said that’s the position Love, the Wolves’ best player, occupies, but Rambis shot down that premise in his postgame news conference after Love played just three minutes in the fourth quarter of a close game.
When someone asked why Rambis held out his best player, Rambis said, ’That’s your opinion.’ "

Man, I hope Kevin Love is tradable!!!

by bigredd1987 on Dec 15, 2010 2:27 PM MST reply actions

That article is like a month and a half old

Beasley’s actually a 3/4 tweener and they’ve playing him at the 3 and it seems to be working out OK.

RIP Seasons of Discontent

by Scott Howard on Dec 15, 2010 2:44 PM MST up reply actions 1 recs

I wish the Suns had a 3/4 tweener...

Never confuse activity with achievement.

by Jim Coughenour on Dec 15, 2010 2:46 PM MST up reply actions

we do

pudgemonster

happy holidays everyone.

by 2NASHTY on Dec 15, 2010 2:47 PM MST up reply actions

that was irresponsible of me

but seeing that comparison to ren and stimpy got me hooked.

Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx

by Wil Cantrell on Dec 15, 2010 3:06 PM MST up reply actions

The Suns need to win this one.

I feel like I haven’t watched a Suns game in years! (Its actually only been 2 games) I am very excited to sit down and watch the game tonight and expect a win. :)

"If the Suns can shock the world
Goran Dragic is the name."

by Dragic_is_Magic on Dec 15, 2010 3:00 PM MST via mobile reply actions

This Suns team, as it currently stands, has no identity – much like the Wolves.
But we’re one step up on them as we have veterans who have played on teams with identities, it’s just that those teams are gone.

Until the Suns get an identity, it’s going to be a slog of a season. And that starts with tonight.

Hedo Turkoglu is my new favourite.

by keify34 on Dec 15, 2010 3:08 PM MST reply actions

I think the Wolves have an identity....

they suck.

Jury is still out on the Suns.

Never confuse activity with achievement.

by Jim Coughenour on Dec 15, 2010 3:19 PM MST up reply actions

lol

Raising Arizona Sports at SB Nation Arizona twitter: @sethpo

by Seth Pollack on Dec 15, 2010 4:38 PM MST up reply actions

The way Love rebounds, I would never expect the Wolves to trade him. Is Beasley of any interest, or is he still a knucklehead?

by 8472species on Dec 15, 2010 3:15 PM MST reply actions

Um, are those mutually exclusive options?

Michael Beasley is an effusive individual. He’s flaky, he’s fun, he’s a nice kid, he’s hard to coach…. And he’s of interest. The guy has a ton of talent, and he’s not a bad attitude case, he’s just a kook.

Every real thought on every real subject knocks the wind out of somebody or other. – OWH

by feral on Dec 15, 2010 5:23 PM MST up reply actions

We deserve an "easy" one

in the schedule. Now let’s hope we dispatch these guys accordingly. I will be interested to see how Gentry allocates the minutes if he sticks to his new program of shortening the rotations. In this case we should win in any event so he won’t have to revert to benching guys as soon as they miss a shot or defensive assignment. I’m hoping Frolo plays well and helps solidify the units. It’s nice to hear that he’s been able to bang in practice. Could this mean that his overall health is better than it was when he got the present knee injury? Wouldn’t that be nice?
[BTW, as a resident of Vancouver, I slightly resemble Ray’s admittedly witty remark about bad weather and perennial laughingstock teams. Remember when the Grizzlies played here? Ugh! I didn’t think so.]

by Van2010 on Dec 15, 2010 3:24 PM MST reply actions

Big Country

Never confuse activity with achievement.

by Jim Coughenour on Dec 15, 2010 3:53 PM MST reply actions

Are we going to sign him?

He’s certainly well rested.

RIP Seasons of Discontent

by Scott Howard on Dec 15, 2010 3:55 PM MST up reply actions

We took to calling him Sleep Country for obvious reasons.

He retired wealthy due to injury, to his trailer in Gans Oklahoma, right after the team moved to Memphis. If you ever feel like complaining about Sarver, be grateful he ain’t Heisley.

by Van2010 on Dec 15, 2010 4:35 PM MST up reply actions

Heisley was the worst..

but so was big Stu J…(I’m from Van too and watched that awful team quite a bit).

that was the worst run team in the history of the NBA…went much deeper than the big country acquisition.

by HarvMel on Dec 15, 2010 10:07 PM MST up reply actions

Last Suns victory is Dec 5th

Is that guy 28 or 38?

by sun_equalizer on Dec 15, 2010 3:55 PM MST reply actions

hill final push to the all star..!

the platinum rule

NO Gasol, NO Shaq equals NO Championship.

by Christian_33 on Dec 15, 2010 4:37 PM MST reply actions

stay positive

he will be a reserve one

Is that guy 28 or 38?

by sun_equalizer on Dec 15, 2010 5:18 PM MST up reply actions

There's a game today?

It feels like forever since they last played.

I am a leaf in the wind. Watch me soar.

by noonoo on Dec 15, 2010 5:48 PM MST reply actions

After an extremely emotionally draining day!

I need a good day to cheer me up!! Oh & what’s snow????

"Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming!!!"

by Aztiramtempe on Dec 15, 2010 5:48 PM MST via mobile reply actions

Anybody watching BOS/NYK?

Amare just put up 17 in the first q. It was redonkulous.

Steve Nash, the league's MVP, is a longhaired Canadian who spoke out against the war in Iraq and reads The Communist Manifesto. Quentin Richardson declared after a game-winning shot that it "was like Hamlet. It was a suspense thriller, and I killed them at the end." Amare Stoudemire, when asked to comment on a 22-point third quarter against the Kings, said, "I've got a tendency to jump over some guys' heads and throw it down."

by rsavaj on Dec 15, 2010 6:01 PM MST reply actions