After last night’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks, our Kyle Ratke made a few observations. He typed them here. Enjoy. 1.) Kevin and Kevin: A Second Half Story
It wasn’t a pretty start for Minnesota. In fact, it was kind of gross. The Bucks made their first 12 shots. TWELVE SHOTS IN A ROW!
The Wolves went into the half down 61-55. That’s when Kevin Martin and Kevin Love showed up. Martin led all scorers with 12 points in the third quarter, while Love had a game-high 10 points, five rebounds and three assists in the fourth quarter.
“Staying with the shot,” Martin said on what he did differently in the third quarter. “Getting to the rim and just moving without the ball.”
When Martin is aggressive, as he was last night, Rick Adelman is a happy man. There have been times this season when Martin has looked unsure of what he wants to do. Last night wasn’t one of those times.
In unrelated news, my guy Zaza Pachulia had 10 assists. Good work, Zaza. As always, it’s a great day to be a Zaza fan.
2.) Welcome Home, Nate
Or Nate Diggty Dawg as I call him. Wolters went to St. Cloud Tech. I went to ROCORI. We grew up about 20 minutes apart and we were very good friends.
Nate and I now both work for NBA teams. Talk about crazy success stories, am I right?
There were plenty of fans from central Minnesota in the house last night at the Target Center and he did not disappoint. Wolters finished with 14 points, going 5-of-6 from the field and 2-of-2 from the 3-point line.
I talked to a few buddies at Hubert’s after the game. Here’s our conversation: “How about Nate’s night? …. Did he even miss?! ….Why didn’t he play the whole game? … Why is the kitchen closed? If Pek and Zaza hug, I’d prefer not to be in the middle of it … Nate’s made our state proud … Why is the kitchen closed?!”
3.) Playoff Odds?
When the Wolves lost back-to-back home games to the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors at home earlier this month, their playoff chances took a hit. But for all of you Negative Neds out there, the Wolves are 31-30 – the most wins Minnesota has had since the 2004-05 season.
Since the Wolves don’t play in the Eastern Conference, they currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs. Minnesota sits in 10th place in the West and according to Basesketball-Reference.com, the Wolves have a 6.6 percent chance of making the playoffs. The site also predicts that Minnesota will finish with 43 wins. Up next on the schedule is Mike Cristaldi and the Charlotte Bobcats and Mike Bibby and the Sacramento Kings – two winnable games.
The Wolves do not practice today, so we’ll check back in with you tomorrow. So long, friends.