Love missed Minnesota's final game as a precaution, but he's just fine. Really. Don't even worry about it.
Minnesota crushed New York 111-91 and lost to Milwaukee 81-67 to finish Summer League at 2-3, which to me was just about what we expected. They might have gone 3-2 on the strength of Kevin Love playing the second half of the Bucks game, but since the results simply didn't matter... we don't care. Summer League is about experience, not W's and L's.
Sidenote: By the way, Love should be just fine. If you didn't see, he was kept out of most of the second half of the Bucks game and all of the Knicks game so that he could rest his legs. Accounts of people who were there say it was simply precautionary to keep him out of the final game after he aggravated his achilles just a bit against the Bucks. He should be practicing with Team USA's Select Team as I type, and we'll make sure to check on it for updates.
Back to the final two games ... Er, on second thought, nothing of note really happened. Corey Brewer, Chris Richard, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Drew Neitzel and Blake Ahearn all played well in the final win while neither team played a ton of defense. That's that. If I missed anything, I'll be talking to Brewer and assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff on the Wolves Caravan to shore up the details. Cool?
Now, in keeping our theme of honesty and candidness in this extended Vegas diary, I can easily dispel the notion that what happened in Vegas needs to stay in Vegas ... for me, at least. Here is a summation of "vices" for my trip:
- Gambling: Known by my friends as neither a particularly good nor energetic gambler (except on side sports bets with friends ... thanks a lot, Lakers and Memphis), it was no surprise to anyone that I barely gambled at all in Sin City. In fact, I gambled for exactly 45 minutes, putting $30 down at the blackjack table on the final night after posting content from Minnesota's victory over Portland.
In fact, even playing in the first place was out of character for me, and took approximately 269 phrases like this: "Come on Trudell, don't be such a wuss" // "Relax Tru, why are you so worried even if you lose your lil' $30" // and "Seriously? You can't sit at the table for 10 minutes? Have some fun!" before I actually conceded. Frustratingly, the cheapest buy in for me was a $10 minimum table, leaving me exactly six $5 chips with which to work. Awesome. Yet in an upset bigger than Giants over Patriots or Appalachian State over Michigan, I nine times staved off elimination on my final two chips, punching blackjack death in the face like I were Jermaine O'Neal after the throw down in Motown. Then, out of nowhere, I won three hands in a row, lost one and won two and was up to $50!!!!
Of course, I immediately quit, content with my $20 coup from Vegas*. Yup, I made money there. Get off me.
*To be fair, I dropped $5 on Lance Berkman for the Home Run Derby.Insert swearword here.
Clubs: Because some friends' friends got us in for free, I went to Body English in Hard Rock and Jet at Mirage for a total of about an hour each. I didn't buy one drink, and didn't even pretend to dance once. I'm lame, what can I say. I did, however, watch episodes of CSI and call my girlfriend from my hotel room while people were having fun in the clubs ... Is that cool?
Thanks for playing,
Mike
Kevin Love Joins USA Select Team
Kevin Love will be charged with getting Team USA ready to play in the Olympics as a member of the Select Squad.
OK, not going to lie to you. I don't have any of those nice looking date headers for this weekend and need technical wiz Big Teezy at the office to make them. But it's a new day ... Just go with it.
You may have heard about our own Kevin Love, he of 20 and 15 in Las Vegas, being asked to join Team USA's Select Team to help the senior squad prepare for the coming Olympics. When you think about it, Love's game is suited perfectly for the international game ... He's a big that can pass extremely well and shoot with range. Aside from just being good in general, perhaps that's what Team USA GM Jerry Colangelo was thinking when he added some Love to his team.
Here's a link to the release put out by our PR staff:
This thing is sweet, even if you're not a big X-games type bit guy (like me).
Before leaving Las Vegas, I had the chance to speak with Kings co-owner Joe Maloof, who perhaps more than anyone can be called the gracious host of the Summer League (wish we had stayed at the Palms this year - no offense, Hard Rock, you're not bad at all). At first, Maloof and I talked about the young talent on both the Wolves and Kings. It's interesting, because right now, the Blazers get the most buzz in terms of having youthful talent that could do something big in a few years ... And rightfully so, perhaps, because their young talent has already produced wins.
But guys like Kevin Love, Randy Foye, Al Jefferson, Rashad McCants, Craig Smith, Corey Brewer on one side, and Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia, Beno Udrih, Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson on the other could end up looking pretty good in a few years. It's going to be fun to watch.
Maloof was also excited about something that I hadn't yet heard about, but sounds pretty sweet:
The Maloof Money Cup, or the World's Greatest Skateboarding Competition.
The event actually already took place, but is on CBS Sunday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern. Maloof said that he's realized these skateboarders are some of the best athletes in the world, and since they're between the ages of 19 and 35 for the most part, are the same ages as NBA players. If you're like me, you'll check it out.
Thanks in large part to a dominating performance on the offensive glass (21-8), the Timberwolves beat the Blazers 88-78 on Thursday, as described in the last blog entry. I mention those offensive rebounds in part because the two guys we heard from - Kevin Love and Pops Mensah-Bonsu - combined for 15 of those 21 glass cleans. Love and coach Jerry Sichting talked on the floor right after the game, and we spoke with Pops in his room for a more in-depth breakdown:
I'm heading back to Minneapolis tomorrow, so this will be the last post for a lil' bit. But we'll be in touch with several of the Wolves still out here - call them Vegas Correspondents - to fill us in on all the action over the course of the team's final two games ... So, check back this weekend for updates. Thanks for playing.
Minnesota pulled away in the third quarter to beat Portland behind 26 and 15 from Kevin Love.
The most notable in several solid Timberwolves individual performances Thursday evening in Vegas came from Kevin Love, whose 26 points and 15 boards were both team highs in a 88-78 victory over Portland.
There is no question that Love's been terrific all week, but it was the whole of Minnesota's parts that brought the squad some love in the form of its first Summer League victory over the now 1-2 Trail Blazers. Lots of numbers jump out: 11 points and seven boards off the pine from Pops Mensah-Bonsu; 10 points, three boards and two assists from Craig Smith in limited minutes; 14 points from Blake Ahearn; 11 points, two dimes and two boards from Pooh Jeter, and nine points off the pine from Bryce Taylor.
Minnesota took a 40-36 lead into the break at Cox Pavilion, getting 13 points from Love and nine off the bench from Mensah-Bonsu along with nine boards between the two of them.
I got my analysis of the first half from Wolves shooting guard Rashad McCants, in town to support his squad by day and kick back by night. McCants also talked about what he likes about Kevin Love's game, his new teammate Mike Miller, his plans to go see Al Jefferson tomorrow and what party he's heading to tonight.
The Wolves pulled away from Portland with their best quarter of the Summer League, outscoring the Blazers 31-20 to build a 71-56 lead from which Portland couldn't dig out.
Here are a few more quick notes:
- The Rhino got loose a little bit in the second half ... In his most impressive play, he showed his Cally-beach training by picking the pocket of Blazers point guard Petteri Koponen, collecting the rock on the other side of the Finnish kid, taking a dribble and finishing with a two-handed Zeus dunk.
- The dunk was almost as fierce as two crazy tomahawk jams from Pops that rocked the rim in the first half. Before the game, Mensah-Bonsu promised me something special near the rim, and he certainly delivered - twice. That's what got fans on his bandwagon back at George Washington.
1:30 P.M. -- Smith Conversation
After the team got back from shootaround, Craig Smith had to get himself a room (he didn't do it himself, to be fair) and take his gear up to the training room to be washed before tonight's game, in which he said he may or may not play. Along the way, Smith told me what he's been up to these past few weeks (hooping, running on the beach, working out, keeping up on L.A. fashion) and how he felt about his new deal (great).
Subsequently, we went to his sixth-floor room from where he ordered room service (breakfast items like French toast and such) and took a few minutes to catch up with timberwolves.com.
I have to say, Pooh on Rhino is my favorite audio title ever. Anyways, congrats on your deal, Mr. Smith.
1:00 P.M. -- Coach Wittman Weighs In
Wittman weighs in frequently throughout the team's time in Vegas, but mostly allows his assistants to run the show. After all, it's not just players that are trying to improve.
Right after Minnesota completed its shootaround Thursday morning, I caught up with head coach Randy Wittman to inquire about his role in Vegas, what he's seen from his players and coaches and his thoughts on the Craig Smith signing. Here's what coach Wittman had to say:
Q: On how his assistants have embraced an increased role in Vegas:
Wittman: They've been very good. This is an opportunity for them to grow as coaches. You gain experience by coaching games, and this is the only chance they have during the year to do that. My job as well as coaching our team and getting our players better is getting my coaches better and to see them advance and grow in their careers. I remember when I was an assistant, and had guys that I was lucky enough to work for that did those things for me. That's what we try to do: Give them the responsibility of running the team for 10 days and allowing them to make many of the decisions.
Q: On his role with the players at Summer League:
Wittman: Just some little things. We don't have a lot of practice time here after we had the three days of mini camp, and their heads are spinning around through those days. Now they're starting to feel more comfortable after playing two games. So it's the things you see sitting up in the stands that a lot of times I don't have the opportunity to see sitting on the bench. I'm trying to help the guys out with little tips.
Q: On it being more of a macro perspective for him:
Wittman: Yeah, I want our coaches to make decisions based on what they think right now. We put our program together in what we want to do offensively and defensively, and I want to see them implement it and make the decisions. We sit after every game and talk about good things and bad things, things they could have done differently or things that were good decisions. This is as much of a development process for our coaches as it is our players.
Q: On his thoughts about Kevin Love thus far:
Wittman: He's been good. What Kevin brings to the table that's hard to coach is the ability to make other players better. He's one of those guys that, as a teammate, if you don't like playing with him, you don't like playing with anybody. That's a skill he has. His basketball IQ we all knew coming into the draft was there and he hasn't disappointed us with that. It's just going to be a matter of him continuing to grow as a player. He's only a freshman, he's a young kid and he's going to have his ups and down just as any other rookie does. He has seen through this play here how much quicker it is than the college game, but it isn't even close to be what it is when November comes. He has to have that in his mind and be ready to go.
Q: On how Love can make Corey Brewer better:
Wittman: Corey is a runner, and Kevin has the ability with his outlet passing and seeing up the floor to take advantage of that. That's one thing that all of our wing guys better understand - If you're not going to run, you're not going to play. With the way he outlets the ball, you can get at least two or three layups a game, and that's huge. In the scheme of things, it's only six points, but it's a huge advantage to have.
Q: On pressure for the guys without contracts battling for roster spots:
Wittman: Sure, there is always a little bit of pressure. A lot of them are coming right out of college and they didn't get drafted. They love the game and want to continue their careers. But it's not necessarily what team you're with and the opportunity you have with that team ... Some of these guys are going to have a chance to come to training camp with us after this week is over, but there are 20 other teams here. All the European scouts are here, so this is an opportunity to showcase yourself not only for the Timberwolves but for the other teams in the NBA and overseas.
Q: On if teams feel obligated to give guys minutes so they can be seen:
Wittman: Well, you want to try to get guys minutes. They have worked just as hard as everybody else and you want them to have the opportunity to be seen. That's the hard thing. We have Corey (Brewer), Chris (Richard) and Kevin (Love) who are on the roster already that we definitely want to see, but we have spots and opportunities for some other guys. This isn't about winning and losing as much as getting a good look at guys we want to see.
Q: On Craig Smith proving to the team in his two years that he's a valuable contributor off the bench:
Wittman: Yes, it's a good thing for us to get done so that we can get Craig back to Minneapolis this summer and get him ready for the start of camp. He's a guy that's proven that he can score on the low post, and when you take Al (Jefferson) out of the game, that's an important factor that you can still get points in the paint. He proved to us last year that he can do that.
11:30 A.M. -- The Rhino's Back
There's a Rhino lurking in Las Vegas ... One who inked a two-year deal to stay with the Wolves.
Craig Smith, the leading player-contributor to a team website in 2007-08, signed a two year contract to remain with the Wolves - and we're very pleased.
To our surprise, the Rhino showed up in Vegas this morning at Cox Pavilion, extending about 1,234 daps and mini hugs to teammates, coaches and staff.
Last season, Smith put up 9.4 points on 56.3 percent shooting to go with 4.6 rebounds in 77 games (with 11 starts). His best game came at Washington in December, when he scored a career-high 36 points. It's hard to think of too many power forwards more productive than Smith that come off the pine.
We'll have more on this, including a conversation with Rhino, later today.
