With the 1st pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers select...

I've written about the NBA Draft lottery before, and from what I can tell most of you have read that post today.  Here's the link, in case you have no idea what I'm talking about: http://www.thewirk.com/2010/05/iswas-nba-draft-lottery-rigged-depends.html.

Yes, I do think the NBA Draft lottery is somehow rigged.  I'm not saying it's done every year, but some years look more suspicious than others.  Don't ask me how it's done, especially since they went to the ping pong balls, but something seems awfully interesting about the Cleveland Cavaliers getting the 1st and 4th picks this year. 

It's a shame that the player talent pool is shallow this year.  As a Cavs fan and a Duke fan, I'm interested to see how Kyrie Irving does in Cleveland.  After the debacle and let down associated with last year's season, I'm looking forward to rebuilding the Cavaliers under Byron Scott.

At least Cavs fans will have something to be excited about.

Incidentally, I received an email this morning from a former customer of mine in Minneapolis.  His email read, "You got our draft pick.  Please treat it kindly."  Funny.  For the record, I think the Timberwolves are just fine with Kevin Love and Michael Beasley...

It may be a small victory, but I'll take it.  Go Cavs!  I can hear David Stern now, "With the 1st pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers select..."

Oh, and you have plenty of time to sign up for a Twitter account so you can follow the NBA Draft when the actual picks are made.  Trust me.  If you're a basketball fan, you'll want to follow the commentary.  It's pure comedy.

Update:  I just heard David Kahn's comments.  He's not alone in his thoughts.  We've all seen the 1985 footage.  I remember thinking the same thing for the 2003 lottery, when I saw Gordon Gund's positioning near the podium.  I didn't watch last night's draft lottery, but I'm just saying the outcome looks "interesting" after the previous, dreadful Cavs' season.


THE WIRK

2008 NCAA Final Four ~ UCLA (Love and Westbrook) v Memphis (Rose)

I was catching up with someone about the NBA and the NCAA Tournament, and my friend mentioned my trip to the Final Four in 2008.  Honestly I hadn't thought about 2008 since 2008, but my friend had an interesting revelation.   When I was in San Antonio for the Final Four I watched the UCLA Bruins play the Memphis Tigers.  What does that mean?  It means, that I saw UCLA's Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love go up against Memphis' Derrick Rose.

Wow.  Immediately, I went through my pictures to see if I had any gems.  This is what I found.

The opening tip: UCLA Bruins v Memphis Tigers

 

Derrick Rose (#23) going against Kevin Love (#42)



Oh and for those of you that don't remember, Memphis defeated UCLA in that game (i.e. with a final score of 78-63).  Further, Kevin Love did not have a double-double in that game.

Kevin Love finished his road to an NCAA Championship with 12 points and 9 rebounds, but Russell Westbrook was the high scorer of the two (i.e. in this Final Four game) with 22 points.

Derrick Rose ended his college career with 25 and 9 rebounds.

Here's a shot of the scoreboard at the end of the game.

UCLA's road did end here

Now let's time travel to "present day":

Love's accomplishments in the NBA have been well documented as he plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves along with Michael Beasley.

Russell Westbrook and his teammate, Kevin Durant, are a tremendous duo for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Derrick Rose has been amazing for the new-look Chicago Bulls, and he has his name in the hat for the NBA's MVP award this season.  Incidentally, the Bulls took the top spot in the East (i.e. over the Boston Celtics) after last night's victory over the Washington Wizards.

I'm telling you, if you've never been to the tournament, GO!!!!

THE WIRK

Wizards beat the Timberwolves ~ Kevin Love scored his 50th double-double

Saturday night the Wizards had the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves in town at the Verizon Center.  Kevin Love was in town and brought his 49 game double-double streak to town.  It's no secret that I've seen plenty of Timberwolves' games this season.  I'm actually a fan of the young team and enjoy watching Michael Beasley and Kevin Love play, so when I was offered a free ticket to the game you better believe I took it!

Kevin Love didn't disappoint.   He notched his 50th double-double game, even though the Wizards ended up victorious.  The Wizards went into the game losing 7 games in a row.  Both of the squads are young, but Minnesota hasn't learned to pull out close games YET.  ****  This is a skill the Miami Heat are trying to master also, so I'm not really going to slam Kurt Rambis' team that hard for being young.

Another reason I was interested in the game was because I had yet to see John Wall play a real game "live".  I watched Wall play during the NBA All-Star Rookie Challenge, but that didn't count.  Wall finished the game with a double-double (i.e. 18 points and 11 boards), but Andray Blatche was the Wizards' high scorer (i.e. 20 points).  In a losing effort, Michael Beasley dropped 18 points, but Kevin Love contributed 20 points and 21 boards.  WOW.  50 double-double games, in a row...  ****  Moses Malone's record of 51 consecutive double-doubles looks like it's going down!

This game was winnnable for the Timberwolves, but when asked by the guy next to me if I thought the T'wolves would pull it out, I said, "No."  It was what it was, and the Timberwolves just don't have that killer instinct YET...  Tough loss. 

Final score:  Timberwolves 96, Wizards 103.


THE WIRK

Thunder defeat the Timberwolves ~ Durant sets career high 47 points and 18 rebounds

Tonight was a good night to be in Minneapolis.  Coach Scott Brooks brought his Oklahoma City Thunder to the Target Center to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves.  I feel like the Thunder are in town every month.  I know that's not the case, but it feels like I just saw them here.

Regardless tonight's match-up went into overtime and Kevin Durant blew up for a million points and a thousand rebounds.  Ok.  So he didn't really have a million points and a thousand rebounds, but it felt like he did.  Durant ended the game with 47 points and 18 rebounds.  That's not a typo.  He had 47 points and 18 boards.

Jeff Green was the 2nd leading scorer for the Thunder.  He dropped 19 points and contributed 8 rebounds.

During the 1st half of the game Russell Westbrook had a monster one-handed dunk that I would've taken a picture of to post here, had I not been looking at my in-seat menu.  Seriously?!?!?  When am I ever going to learn not to turn my camera off and to pay attention ~ especially when high-flying athletic players like Westbrook are on the floor.

For the Minnesota Timberwolves, the dynamic duo of Michael Beasley and Kevin Love came ready to play.  Beasley had 30 and 9.  Love had 31 and 21.  Love is a tough.  During overtime he hit the floor and everyone at the Target Center held their breath, until he got up off the floor.  He hit the deck right in front of me and I swear I heard it.  Ouch.

I told the guy next to me that the Timberwolves would lose.  I don't mean to dog the team, but the guys are just too young and/or inexperienced to close close games out.  It's sad, but true.  This game was winnable for the young Timberwolves, but the Thunder rocked the Target Center to win, ultimately with a score of 118-117. 

This picture of the Thunder reminded me of Reservoir Dogs

Kevin Durant blew up in a career game (i.e. that went into overtime), during my final night in Minneapolis.  I'd say we both went out with a bang.  Thunder Up!

Oh and check this guy out.  Would you let an NBA mascot cut your hair for a Klondike bar?!?!!  Hell no.... 

**** Last, but not least, just in case the assistant coach I met in the hotel concierge lounge before the game reads this post, I should point out that I was right.  Wes Johnson plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves.  This is a picture of him in the air going for a lay-up.

THE WIRK

Rockets defeated the Timberwolves ~ Brooks throws up the "loser sign"

The Houston Rockets came into the Target Center last night and defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves.  The final score was 125-129.  The game didn't really get exciting until the end when the Timberwolves started to make a run.

For $40 I picked up my $105 ticket from a scalper and was ready watch "Amazing happen".  To be honest, the only thing amazing was my soft serve, chocolate ice cream in a cake cone.  The treat was so good that I had two of them, but I digress... 

Before the game another guy asked if there were any stars on the Houston Rockets.  I answered for the guy, "Not unless you count Shane Battier as a star."  I kept it moving.  I actually am not familiar with the Rocket's line up.  I just know that without Yao Ming, it's tough to watch them.  ****  I wasn't going to debate Shane Battier's star level.  He's a Duke alumnus, so therefore I support him.

Speaking of Battier, I couldn't help but notice he was guarding Michael Beasley.  Talk about opposites...  Battier is clean cut, and Beasley isn't...  Personally, I like Beasley's game better.  It's more exciting. 

Honestly though, with Luis Scola's freakish resemblance to adult Jesus, how were the Timberwolves expected to win? 

Speaking of look-a-likes...  Who's the guy on the Rockets' staff that looks like American Idol judge, Randy Jackson?  I could look it up or you can just tell me.

One more doppelganger...  Am I the only person that thinks Rick Adelman (i.e. in the mock turtleneck and coat) resembles Will Ferrell doing his Sean Connery impression?!?!  I can't be.  I wonder if Adelman can do the accent...

Things during the game were ho-hum, but got more interesting around the last two minutes.  Yes, everyone says you don't need to watch an NBA game until there are 2 minutes left on the clock.  In this case, around the 2 minute mark, Aaron Brooks and Kevin Love tussled and Brooks threw the ball at Love's chest.  Have you seen Brooks and Love stand next to each other?  Brooks more or less comes up to Love's armpit.  Regardless, it was a weird exchange and Brooks hit the Rockets bench shortly after. 

After getting his 6th foul, on his way to the bench in case Timberwolves fans couldn't read the scoreboard Brooks flashed the "loser sign" to the Timberwolves crowd. 

THE WIRK

1+1+2+1 = 5 technical fouls in 10 seconds ~ Ken Mauer stole the show in Minneapolis

I found a video on Youtube of Ken Mauer giving out five technical fouls to the Minnesota Timberwolves last night, when they hosted the San Antonio Spurs.  The video isn't that great, but I'll take it.



Here is the order for the technical fouls:

1. Corey Brewer
2. Darko Milicic
3. Kurt Rambis
4. Kurt Rambis, and
5. Kevin Love

Yep, 1+1+2+1 = 5 techs in 10 seconds.

I don't know if I'm alone, but it kind of reminds me of the scene in the movie, "Clue", where the Butler tries to count the bullets in the gun.


THE WIRK

Spurs defeat the Timberwolves ~ Rambis left in the 3rd, Beasley left in the 4th

$20 tonight would've gotten you a ticket to see the San Antonio Spurs v Minnesota Timberwolves.  The final score was 107-96.  Kevin Love had another double-double, 20 points and 20 boards.  Michael Beasley played but has been bothered by a bad ankle.  Luke Ridnour and Martel Webster both contributed 18 points in the losing effort.  The Timberwolves shot poorly all night, 38% was the field goal percentage. 

 No one will beat the Spurs shooting 38%.  It's not rocket science.

The Spurs were just too tough for Kurt Rambis' squad.  Correction:  Maybe I should say Bill Laimbeer's squad since the technical fouls were flying and Rambis was ejected with about 8:30 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter.

I knew that the Spurs would win tonight, but I thought that perhaps the Timberwolves would raise their level of play to compete.  I also thought tonight's game would be a chance for Gregg Popovich to rest his "starters".  I was wrong.  Tim Duncan, Richard Jefferson, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker all contributed substantial minutes and balanced scoring. 

As much as I'm not a Tony Parker fan, I can't deny the fact that the man is good.  Here's a picture of him in the air, after driving the lane, and dishing the ball to a teammate for an assist.

There wasn't much energy in the Target Center tonight.  I think the most fan energy came out during the t-shirt toss.  Regardless, for $20, I was pleased with the level of entertainment and had plenty of Tweet material. 

There was a very scary moment for Timberwolves' fans when Beasley drained a 3 with just under 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter.  He landed and immediately grabbed his ankle.  He was able to get up, but hopped as he was helped off the court. 

Spurs maintain their dominance and improve to 32-6.  Timberwolves settle for 9-30, and everyone hopes Beasley's not hurt seriously.

Here are my Tweets from the game.   If you're not following, you're missing out.  Most recent Tweets are on top and the older ones are towards the bottom.

• Beasley just drained a 3 and went down. Had to be helped off court. He hopped to locker room. #Twolves v #Spurs. Fans headed to exits.
• They're tossing t-shirts into crowd and finally Target Center wakes up. Game isn't out of reach for #Twolves v #Spurs but no energy here.
• #Twolves fg% is 39%... Shooting is so cold in here, that I might need my handwarmers from the AFC Wildcard game in KC. #Spurs up 93-83.
• With 8:36 left in the 3rd, Kurt #Rambis is ejected. The techical fouls are flying now. Kevin #Love just got one also. #spurs v #twolves
• #Twolves hype guys just said something about the best entertainment in the #WNBA. Um, huge slip up. This isn't a WNBA game, is it? #Spurs
• Latino night at Target Center so we got to listen to genie in a bottle in Spanish. Really? Is that the best song to play? #Spurs #Twolves
• 2 minutes into the game and Tony Parker doesn't look like he's texting... Good news is that he hadn't scored yet either. #spurs v #twolves
• Why they even assigned seat locations to these tickets is nuts. Should be open seating like at a movie theater #Spurs v #Twolves
• #Spurs v #Timberwolves... #Beasley playing... Let's make it a ball game!

I just got a technical foul from Ken Mauer...  Wait..  What?!!?  LOL.

THE WIRK

Tonight I saw the Bobcats defeat the Timberwolves ~ Can you say that?

Tonight, I went to the Target Center to watch the Charlotte Bobcats v Minnesota Timberwolves' game. Not expecting much of anything out of tonight's match-up I walked over a few minutes before the game started and found a guy on the street with a ticket. I don't carry $10s, and it's cold outside in Minneapolis. I flipped him $20 for a $35 ticket and made it to my seat just in time for the opening tip.

The only reason I was interested in this game is because Charles Oakley is now an assistant coach for the Bobcats. Paul Silas definitely has his work cut out with this squad, but they were able to defeat the Timberwolves tonight so who knows what that team can do. To be fair, this game was sloppy and there was very little energy in the arena. Can you say booooooooooring?

There are 82 games in the NBA regular season, and it seemed that the Timberwolves were going to take the night off. Kevin Love and Michael Beasley did their best to spur their teammates on, but the Timberwolves' late push wasn't enough.

At one point during the first half, the crowd started to boo the team. The Timberwolves were losing to the Bobcats and the crowd was not pleased. At around the same time, there was an announcement for the season ticket holders to check their mailboxes and renew. Seriously?!?! Scoreboard, people. Scoreboard.

After getting some ice cream at half-time, I asked the guy next to me if I could take a look at his booklet (i.e. pre-game program). Yep, sure enough I was watching Kwame Brown and Darko Milicic go against each other. **** Honestly, I think my ice cream is more interesting, but since this blog isn't about ice cream, I'll try to focus on the game.
There really isn't much to say. Sure the game went into overtime, but for my $20 and the level of effort I saw on the floor ~ I just don't have the desire to look at a box score and write anything intelligent or snarky.

Tonight, for $20, I watched the Charlotte Bobcats win. My friends say that I overpaid. Regardless, I was there. Can you say that?!?!

THE WIRK

Timberwolves lose to the Nuggets ~ Chauncey Billups drops 36

If you're a Minnesota Timberwolves fan, tonight's final score against the Denver Nuggets doesn't tell the story.  If you weren't at the game, chances are you didn't see any of the action.  The Denver Nuggets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-113.  This was a very winnable game for the young Timberwolves, especially since Carmelo Anthony wasn't playing tonight.  ****  Carmelo's sister died last week, and he's expected to return to his team for Thursday's game.

Wednesday night is college night at the Target Center.  I'm not really sure what the promotion is, but I can tell you that the place fills up and that there were tons of people at the ticket window before the game.  It was an orderly scene, but surprising enough to me that I took a picture.

Ticket in hand, I was ready for the action and to see a great game. Do you know the name Martel Webster? I didn't. He's #5 for the T'wolves and he spent most of the game draining shots and/or in the air. Seriously. The kid blew up for 17 points. I had to Tweet @jonahballow during the game to figure out where Webster went to school. Turns out the kid came out of high school and spent 5 years in Portland. Wow. Never heard of him. My guess is that he played behind Brandon Roy or Andre Miller. No clue before, but I'll remember him from now on.  Here's a picture of him. in the air, going to the hole.  Yes, Webster can fly!

Darko.  OK.  I've never been the biggest Darko Milicic fan, but I'm also not a Darko hater.  I don't understand all the emotion people have about him.  It's not like the guy leaves any sort of impression.  Regardless, no one likes to see anyone get hurt  ~ but Darko left the floor twice tonight.  Once with about 6 minutes left in the 2nd quarter and again in the 3rd.  When he left the first time he didn't even make it back to the bench.

This is a picture of Darko being "aggressive on offense".  Intimidating, right?!?!  ****  Sorry, that's sarcasm.

These are pictures of "hurt Darko"...

In the first one, he's bent over getting replaced by Pekovic.  ****  I'll keep my comments to myself.  Milicic or Pekovic...  Which one would you choose?   Like I said, when Darko got hurt it took him a while to get off the court.  In the second picture, Ridnour went over to check on him.  In the third picture, finally he was able to walk off the court, towards the scorer's table before heading to the locker room.  As he "walked" off the court, it looked like he didn't want to put any weight on his left side.  I think I heard it's a hip contusion.  I have no idea why he even came out to play in the 3rd quarter.  He winced every time he moved. 

Enough about all that... 

Michael Beasley did his best to keep the Timberwolves in the game and every time the whistle blew (i.e. down the stretch) if you thought the foul was on Kevin Love, you were probably right.   Beasley had 33 and Love had ANOTHER double-double (i.e. 26-14).

Chris "Birdman" Andersen was great to look at with all the tattoos and played a physical game with Love down in the post.  Plenty of contact and banging on defense.  Wish more guys in the NBA were willing to play defense...  Here's a picture of the Birdman getting some air.  ****  Ironically, he'd miss this shot/dunk...

During the game a kid (i.e. about 7 years old) a few rows behind me yells, "Chauncey (Billups) you're old!". Thanks for the news flash, kid. He knows it. We all thought it. If anything all you did was motivate Billups to play out of his mind and drop 36 tonight. **** Nice job, kid... Next time why don't you heckle a guy who isn't a 5-time NBA All-Star and NBA Champion...

I was so into the game, I even reached out for a flying T-shirt.  ****  Don't worry.  It's not like I got ahead of myself and stood up or anything.  At the game I ate skittles, a cheesesteak, and peanuts.  I washed it all down with Mountain Dew.  Yeah, it was one of those nights...  I've got a sugar high or maybe I'm just still on the adrenaline high from this very winnable game, for the young Timberwolves....

8.8 seconds left in the game

If only the Timberwolves had Reggie Miller last night...  He could have scored 8 points in 9 seconds!

Here's another random one for you.  Is this Minneapolis' version of the Kardashians?!?!

I've always said that the Timberwolves have a great mentorship program.  By having Kurt Rambis, Bill Laimbeer, and Reggie Theus on the bench coaching these young guys, I think there's a lot of potential in Minneapolis... 

THE WIRK

Hornets v Timberwolves or Saints v Falcons ~ NBA v NFL...

Tonight I had a choice between the NBA and the NFL, and I'm beginning to think I chose incorrectly. 

Rather than go watch the Minnesota Timberwolves host the New Orleans Hornets (i.e. for some I guess this match-up could be described as "contraction v contraction"), I decided to stay in and watch the New Orleans Saints play the Atlanta Falcons...  Is it just me or is this MNF game boring?  Don't get me wrong, it's a close game (i.e. Saints are up 10-7) with about a minute left in the 3rd Q ~ but for me, it's not that exciting and based on the Tweets I'm reading, I'm not alone in my feelings.

The Timberwolves on the other hand apparently dominated the Hornets.  I'm going to say "apparently", since tonight's ~ actually I think most, Timberwolves' games aren't televised locally here in Minneapolis.  I'm just going by the box score.  Hornet's star Chris Paul dropped 22 points and had 13 assists.  David West, a Xavier alumnus, had 23 points in the losing effort.

****  Once when I was in Vegas, there were a few guys arguing.  They were sitting in front of me. One guy said to the other, "I bet she doesn't know."  Then they all turned around to look at me, while one of the guys asked me where David West went to college.  In no time at all, I said, "Xavier".  One guy started yelling obscenities, and the other guy started yelling that he wanted to get paid.  Evidently I settled a bet.  Guys, don't get it twisted.  I know sports.  Plus, I was sitting in a sports book, and I'm from Ohio.  Of course I knew David West went to Xavier University.

For the Timberwolves, Beasley dropped 30 points and Kevin Love had another double-double (i.e. 16-11).  Wesley Johnson scored 24, but I'm not even going to fake like I know anything about him. 

Since scalping is legal in Minneapolis, I debated on going to the game tonight.  I remember when the Oklahoma City Thunder was in town and there was a "homeless" guy trying to sell me a corner, lower bowl ticket for $10.  I ante'd up for a better ticket with a better view, since sometimes it's not always about a bargain.

With Chris Paul not performing as well this season as in previous ones, I wasn't overly-excited about trying to go to the basketball game.  I determined that I was comfortable spending $10-20 on a lower level ticket, but ultimately decided I didn't have the strength to walk over to the Target Center and negotiate.  ****  I'd be willing to bet I could get a good seat at that price for that game.

Hmmm, now the Falcons have taken the lead, and the score is 14-10.  Maybe the 4th Q will be worth watching...

****  I used to live in Atlanta, but haven't actually been to a Falcons game in years (i.e. since the Michael Vick era ended).  That reminds me, in 2005 the Falcons hosted the New York Giants.  As I was waiting to go through the turnstile I noticed Evander Holyfield.  For those of you that don't know, he lived/lives in Atlanta.  From what I could see, Holyfield was denied entrance into the Georgia Dome.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it looked like he didn't have a ticket.  I SWEAR.  Can't blame the guy for trying, I guess...

Update:  Yes, the 4th Q was worth watching.  The New Orleans Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons 17-14...  Turns out, I did the right thing after all, by staying in.


THE WIRK