If there was ever a team to play when your best player is suspend it would be the Charlotte Bobcats. Then it would be the Washington Wizards. Then I would probably want to play New Orleans or maybe Detroit. After that, Toronto would probably be a pretty good match up. But let me tell you, after that, the Kings are a pretty good team to match up against when you are missing your best player. With the Wolves playing the Grizz tomorrow night, this is probably Minnesota's best chance to win one without Love in the line up.
Sacramento has won their last 3 games including one game where Cousins put up a 21/20. I have a feeling that PEK! will take this as a challenge to his manhood and will respond not only by shutting down Cousins but by putting up a 20/20 of his own. Then again, with Love out, Pek might go for 25/30.
And the matchup chart from covers.com
Matchup Edge
| SAC | Edge in: | MIN |
 |
Points/Game |  |
|
Field Goal % | |
|
Free Throw % | |
|
Defense | |
|
Rebounding | |
|
Turnovers | |
|
Bench | |
Heh.
Alright, stop me if you have heard this before but good teams beat bad teams, especially at home. Time for the Wolves to show the league they are a good team.
how would one go about watching this game without league pass?
If one were so inclined.
No Love, no Darko (twitter)
So Pek! is getting like 40 minutes tonight? I hope he's been keeping up with his cardio.
40/25 (15 offensive) tonight. Book it.
Williams starting tonight?
That's the word.
I hope he does well.
Well enough to keep SCB off the court for long stretches.
So far, so good.
Sheenie's at the game tonight, but I'm stuck in class. Stupid.
That's the saddest story I've ever heard.
Good ol' Pek.
Pek! shows why he's a future HOFer!
D!will
Pek! is like Shaq and Wilt merged together into one player--except that he can shoot free throws.
And he gets more ladies.
Wilt was basically the AC Green of getting laid.
Yeah. Certainly no Pek!.
Pek! has won the first battle.
2 fouls for Cousins early. I approve
OMG that was amazing!
That was the greatest. They should give Rubio an assist for that.
Craziest Rubi-OOP! yet
Best. Oop. Ever.
Well, this is some fun right here. Who needs Love?!?!
...against the Kings?
Is it too late to trade him for Foy+cash?
Its never too late for that.
That dude is so good I can't even spell his name right!
I really want to know what the hell goes through Wes's head?
"ah jeez, guys, there's a defender right here. I know! I'll back up slowly a bit, so that I am taking an even longer contested jump shot! That'll show him."
dunk fial
It was pretty good, but not as good as the one Williams had the other night.
That steal was, awesome!
You blink and suddenly Rubio has the ball somehow.
This game is just the best.
That offensive foul was beyond hilarious. That was a better two-handed block than most Vikings threw this season.
The comically awesome steals continue.
6 credited steals this quarter, 2 by Pek!
Pek! is known for his quick hands, among other things.
Now that I primarily live in a world without commercials, the line "Miller Lite has more taste" makes me more annoyed than ever. More taste than what? Rice cakes?
soggy drywall
Yeah, I've always found that series of commercials weird. Miller Lite tastes like donkey piss.
Better than donkey semen I've been told.
I think I speak for everyone here when I say I'd rather drink donkey semen.
You speak for yourself. Bull semen, or GTFO!
Speaking of which, It's Miller Time. (now that Brad Miller is in.)
This is fun!
Oh god, I just saw Brad Miller's headband. This is no longer fun.
Nope, its still fun.
Did he seriously just drain a 3???
Unless my eyes deceive me.
PROVED YA WRONG
He's old, but he's shot 33% from 3 for his career; not too bad for a 6-11 guy.
Rubio has 6 assists this quarter
NBA.com says 7
yahoo is lagging on the stat sheet.
8!
now its up to 8
This is a bona fide beatdown right here. I'd take an easy win rather than another close pulse-pounder.
You jinxed it!
vote Spooky
Uh-oh. My "never lynched as a villager" thing is over, and I only have myself to blame.
My "never lynched as a villager" thing is over and I'll never let you forget about it.
Hee hee!
It was Mak's fault!
Not Pek's best pass there.
I think Brad Miller is in and Pek! is on the bench
Yeah, and he's got a weird habit of trying to pass around guys.
Miller:turnovers::Rubio:assists
Hey, douchebag? Stop badmouthing baseball. Basketball is primarily watched by sports fans.
I enjoy hitting off of a tee, although I prefer somebody lobbing softballs at me.
SCB can SMB.
somehow, i immediately got that.
Somehow, and don't be offended, but I immediately got it only after you said you immediately got it.
We're blaming Spooky for this quarter, right?
I pretty much blame Spooky for everything bad that ever happens.
Yeah, spooky WOULD sabotage the wolves by making sure none of the bench players know how to pass.
In fairness, he would do that as a villager, too.
He would only do it as a villager. He's clearly not a wolf. Pek! should make him his night kill.
In that case, I'm predicting a wolves victory.
Yeah, the Kings will never figure out that SCB actually is a wolf.
That's certainly not how I'd play it if I were a wolf.
Har!
Wasn't somebody looking for a nickname for Barea a while back? I think we should call him The Bellhop.
the lineup right now is a motley crew: Ridnour, Barea, Beasley, Tolliver, Miller.
Pek!'s back in, so the scoring can resume.
Rubio enters the game - Sacramento immediately botches a 4-on-1.
This is not SCB's shining moment.
Pek! will not be denied!
I guess that was a pretty good first half, although I was hoping Rubio would make more progress toward 20 assists.
I think he was robbed of about 20 assists in the last 5 minutes of the half.
There was definitely some not good shooting there.
Pek! not quite on the pace for the 40/25 I projected. Look for a big second half.
I'm predicting a 40/25 second half.
Let's do this.
WESTLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY JOHNSON!
Yeah, if they do it, it'll be in spite of him.
RUBIPEK!!!!
Hey, Rubio's better than Welker.
I'm starting to think Rubio could help the Vikings' secondary.
My dislike of Ridnour is growing again.
He's 4/10 from the field, which isn't awful. But damn, he's missed a ton of open jumpers.
Yeah, but he started 4/5. And he's making dumb passes.
This is not good.
If it's called the "Taco Bell Skills Challenge", why is there no burrito eating contest?
clearly taco bell isn't chiplote.
"imPEKable play"
i see what you did there.
Jeebus, Pek is abusing Cousins.
Oh snap!
Pek is in Gozilla mode right now. destroying everything in sight
What is the non-Pek Wolves shooting? 12% or so? This blows.
16/46
when did this become a 5 point game? It feels like the Wolves should be up by 15
The used to be up by 15...
LOB ALL THE BALLS!
RUBIOOP!
Rubioop!
PEK!
Seriously, this is Pek!'s world and we're just trying to survive in it.
With Cousins out of the game, Pek! is free to dominate.
that steal was EPEK!
I love Pek.
hi everybody!
I'll take credit for that.
and that
I'm gonna allow this.
i love pek i love pek i love pek I LOVE PEK
Exhale. It's nice to have some breathing room again.
i walked away for a second. weren't the wolves only up by 2?
Pek! was just teasing them.
I didn't have a clue that Pek was such a monster/I don't really watch baseketball.
Pek! is obviously just the best basketball player ever. I don't know why people even have that debate anymore.
I agree, but how is he at baseketball?
We're calling it Pek!ball now, BTW.
That was uncomfortable shooting.
Pekovic was buried on the bench last year. #rambissux
Darko's never getting his minutes back.
Fire Darko!
Into the sun.
I was hoping for that finish- thanks for knocking it down!
Pekovic was buried on the bench last year. #rambissux
4th double double of the season, he has 5 for his career.... the math adds up.
What the hell was that? Come on refs.
Going by Jimmer's headshot for NBA.com, he must be the whitest non-albino person ever.
Pek!'s shot chart is awesome. That's exactly where we should be shooting from.
also, no missed baby hook shots
oh oh. Jimmer is on fire
I do not like the lineup that's on the floor right now.
Although it is nice to see SCB has been getting after the boards.
That was some amazing defense by Toliver.
Wow. that was quite the exchange.
Luke, you're not Rubio
I don't remember Rubio not playing for this long in a fourth quarter yet this season.
ACK 2 point game!
Have the Wolves hit a jump shot this half?
There's a free throw, does that count?
This is some ugly basketball.
Every time I see Beasley try to play defense, he fouls someone.
Wait, wait, wait. You've seen Beasley try to play defense?
I think that's what he's trying to do, but I'm not sure. It doesn't happen often, so I could be mistaken.
Who is this Rubio!?!?
Is there a reason for Tolliver getting so many minutes? Where are Ellington and Webster?
Hell, why hasn't Williams gotten more minutes in the second half?
Alright, Skim's homework is done. I'm back (well, I didn't really leave...I was able to see the annoying Fredette business). We got this.
Oh FFS, is that robbie? My ears.
man, the Wolves D has been insane this game. How many times are the Kings making desperation shots with 1 second left?
Pass ball to Beasley. Wait for everyone to get done cutting to the basket. Fade away jump shot.
Rubio's hogging all the assists, just like Love takes all the rebounds.
@#$^@#$ Beasley!
RUBILLIAMS!
What a shot by D-Thrill!
Derek Williams!
We made a #@^&@#$ jump shot!
yikes.
Zoinks!
Cousins punches Rubio in the face. Flagrant. Call it.
stop missing free throws please
I second this.
Alrighty, I'm home. Let's do this.
this is more tense than it should be.
Wes substituted in for SCB? Interesting.
Maybe Adelman wants to avoid a 20 ft jumper with 18 seconds left on the shot clock at all costs.
Kinda wish RA had made that move about three minutes ago.
Whew! My heart skipped a beat there
Wow, it was like Rambis returned for 10 seconds there.
...and exhale.
We had it all along!
13-12 on the season! .520!
Wow. What a finish.
Well, that's one way to hold on.
Oh, Sweet Jesus.
I still blame Spooky.
So do I.
Latest they've been above .500 since 20-19 in 2007? Does this mean Adelman gets fired if we lose the next game?
/effyoumchale
Yeah that was less than optimum.
Okay, so the Wolves just had two days off. Hey Adelman, couldn't you have scheduled a couple of shooting drills in that time? Sheesh.
Pek! with 23/10, just as I predicted.
I'll take it!
He was pretty close to your original estimate if you go back and pretend you meant mins/points.
Only complaint why did they not go to him in the fourth quarter?
S. C. B.
I saw SCB was 7 for 16 for 17 points at one point in the third or fourth quarter, and I thought to myself, "meh, not bad for him". Then he proceeded to miss his next five shots and kill any sort of offensive rhythm. Let's not pass him the ball anymore.
This is why dudes like him are always overrated. He'll have games where his jumper is going in and people we look at that and see these incredibly high scoring games. The problem is that anybody will look good when their jumper is falling at an unsustainable rate.