What a strange evening at Target Center. I haven't covered many games that started with such high emotion and ended with such disappointment.
That said, Wolves fans should be encouraged by what is coming. The Wolves got Kevin Love, J.J. Barea and Nikola Pekovic back tonight. Ricky Rubio should be back by the new year. Even without Rubio, this is a Wolves team that will win some games.
But first Love has to get into game shape and all the pieces in the Wolves rotation have to get used to playing together again. "I think we are on the right track," Andrei Kirilenko said. "It's bad that we are losing, but are on the right track. We are getting back our guys and they are getting playing time. We need to get a win, a very physical, aggressive win, and I think right now on the road is a great chance to to this."
Jerry was at the game tonight, and he will be posting some video later. Until then, some other thoughts on the game:
--It's amazing Love scored 34 points on a night when he clearly looked a bit out of condition and not comfortable with the brace on his hand.
--The Wolves stopped cutting to the basket in the second half, choosing instead to watch Love work. Bad move.
--Malcolm Lee struggled tonight, going 1-for-8, but he never stopped shooting. The Wolves got 10 points from the starting backcourt of Lee and Luke Ridnour.
--It was very telling what coach Rick Adelman thought of the way Derrick Williams played while others were hurt. He was the only active player not to see a second of playing time.
That's about all for now. Jerry will be with the team on the upcoming road trip. Have a great Thanksgiving.
