Minnesota T-Wolves Blog – Page 49 – NBA Blog

Timberwolves sign Mickael Gelabale and center Chris Johnson for rest of season

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed forward Mickael Gelabale and center Chris Johnson for the remainder of the 2012-13 NBA season. The Timberwolves also announced the team has waived forward/center Lou Amundson.

Gelabale, 6-7, has played in 10 games for the Wolves this season, registering averages of 6.5 points, on .543 shooting, and 3.0 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per contest. Gelabale, 29, was signed to a second 10-day contract on January 29 after originally joining the Wolves on a 10-day contract on January 19 after splitting his time playing in Croatia and Spain earlier this season. In 119 career games with Minnesota and Seattle, Gelabale owns averages of 4.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per contest.

Johnson, 6-11, has appeared in six games for the Wolves this season, averaging 9.3 points, on .733 (22-for-30) shooting, and 4.0 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game. Johnson, 27, was signed to a second 10-day contract on January 29 after originally joining the Wolves on a 10-day contract on January 19 from the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Developmental League. Johnson was a free agent invitee at the Wolves training camp this past fall before being waived on Oct. 27, 2012. In 47 career NBA games, Johnson has averaged 3.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game with Minnesota, New Orleans, Portland and Boston.

Amundson, who the Wolves originally signed as a free agent on September 25, saw action in 20 games this season, totaling averages of 1.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in 8.1 minutes per game. Amundson has put up career averages of 3.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 308 NBA games with Minnesota, Indiana, Golden State, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Utah.

With today’s transactions the Wolves roster stands at 15 players.

Kevin Love hopes to return in mid or late March for Timberwolves

He still hopes to return in mid to late March. But he’s not going to rush himself. Love was asked, again, if he came back too soon from his broken hand the first time. And while he said no, he at least suggested that maybe the breaks didn’t heal properly the first time. “Because, at the time I broke it, I was 10 weeks out (from the initial fractures),” Love said. “So I gave it enough time to heal. … But now that it’s fixed it feels great, and I can continue to progress.”

Love said the season has been frustrating, given his high expectations coming off the Olympics and the team’s high hopes entering the season. When asked what there was left in the season to salvage, here’s what he said: “I think coach (Rick Adelman) mentioned it today,” he said. “That we can’t look at making the playoffs right now. We can just look at our next game and our next practice and what we can do to get better every single day. Even though myself, and Chase (Budinger) and Brandon (Roy) and (Andrei Kirilenko) are out right now, we can still look at getting back on the court and getting better.”

— Reported by Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Blog)

LaMarcus Aldridge helps Blazers edge Wolves 100-98

With Portland on the verge of a massive collapse, LaMarcus Aldridge leaped to swat away Minnesota’s comeback.

The Trail Blazers started their six-game road trip by remedying a sloppy performance with a large dose of their All-Star big man.

Aldridge had 25 points, 13 rebounds and a blocked shot in the closing seconds to help the Blazers hang on to beat the Timberwolves 100-98 on Monday night for their fifth win in their last seven games.

”Teams are going to pressure us, so I think it’s learning,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said. ”But winning on the road is not easy and we needed this one.”

Wes Matthews scored 22 points and Damian Lillard added 21, but they each had five of Portland’s 28 turnovers, the most in regulation by any NBA team all season. The Blazers never trailed in the game and led by 19 points with 12 minutes left, but the Wolves went to a small lineup and scored on 20 of their first 22 possessions in the fourth quarter until misfiring on their final two…

Rubio had 10 of his career-high-tying 14 assists in the fourth quarter and finished with 15 points in 34 minutes, both season highs. Cunningham scored a career-high 23 points on 11 for 17 shooting, and Barea added 17 points…

Aldridge was 12 for 17 from the field. All but one of his makes were 15-foot jumpers or further out…

Nicolas Batum, his sore right wrist clearly still bothering him, finished with four points and a team-high seven turnovers. He has only 39 points in his last five games, less than half of his season average of nearly 16 points per game.

— Reported by Dave Campbell of the Associated Press

Pau Gasol starts, helps Lakers beat Wolves

Pau Gasol knew he could play like this. Kobe Bryant and Ricky Rubio did, too. The only person in Laker land who seemed to doubt what the gifted post player could do was the man in charge.

Now maybe coach Mike D’Antoni will become a believer as well.

Gasol had 22 points and 12 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup and Bryant nearly had a triple-double in leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 111-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

”It was a good feeling out there,” Gasol said. ”Like the good old days.”

Bryant had 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and Steve Nash added 17 points and seven assists for the Lakers, who played without Dwight Howard due to a sore right shoulder. They have won four of their last five games and beat the Wolves for the 20th straight time, the longest active streak in the NBA.

”It’s been a rough season so far, no way around it,” said Gasol, who topped 20 points for just the third time this season. ”Just stay with it, keep playing. You never know when things can change direction. Just play your game when you’re out there. Tonight I was able to start, play more minutes, get a good flow. It was a good game.” …

Alexey Shved scored 18 points and Rubio had nine points and seven assists for the Timberwolves, who lost their sixth straight game. They trailed by 29 in the second quarter, but climbed within four in the fourth.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Brandon Roy struggling in his recovery

For a brief moment, former Portland Trail Blazers star Brandon Roy nearly called it a career after suffering yet another setback in his rehabilitation from knee surgery last Saturday in an individual workout.

The plan for the Minnesota Timberwolves guard was to make his return to action Feb. 1 against the Los Angles Lakers at Target Center, after having two successful workout days. After that, he would join the team for practices leading up to the game.

Friday’s session went as planned. Saturday’s didn’t.

While performing a move in the first 20 minutes of the workout, he felt something in his right knee that he has felt far too often. He tweaked it, eliminating any possibility of him returning to action before the All-Star break.

“As soon as it happened, in my head, I said ‘I quit. I just quit,” an emotional Roy told CSNNW.com. “That was my first thought, that I couldn’t do this anymore.

“I’m at a crossroad in my career.”

— Reported by Chris Haynes of CSNNW

Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman says wife is dealing with seizures

Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman has been trying to keep a lid on his wife’s health issues that caused him to be away from the team for three weeks, preferring to deal with the situation privately while keeping his eye on the team from afar.

Mary Kay didn’t seem to understand why, so Rick Adelman relented on Tuesday, one day after he returned to the team from his hiatus. Rick Adelman said his wife is suffering from seizures and doctors still haven’t figured out what has been causing them.

”It’s just a process now,” Adelman said after practice. ”We don’t know why. We have no clue why it happened. No one can figure it out. Now it’s a matter of finding it out. How do you manage it? What do you do with it? How do you go forward? … The good thing is she’s home.”

Rick Adelman missed 11 games to be by Mary Kay’s side as she went through treatments and met with doctors. For a man who has spent more than two decades in the NBA diagnosing what is going wrong on the court and trying to figure out how to fix his teams’ problems, it’s been a frustrating process of searching for answers that have yet to come.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Timberwolves sign Mickael Gelabale to second 10-day contract

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed forward Mickael Gelabale to a second 10-day contract. The Timberwolves were granted an NBA hardship exception for a 16th roster spot due to having four players out for a minimum of two weeks due to injury.

The 6-7 forward has appeared in five games for the Wolves, averaging 7.8 points, on .556 (15-for-27) shooting, and 3.6 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per game.

Gelabale, 29, spent two seasons (2006-07, 2007-08) in the NBA with the Seattle SuperSonics, and averaged 4.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 15.6 minutes per game in 109 contests. Gelabale was drafted in the second round (48th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft by Seattle.

Gelabale began this season playing in Croatia for Cedevita Zagreb in the EuroLeague and Adriatic League. In 10 EuroLeague games, Gelabale averaged 12.8 points on 60.5 percent shooting, including 42.1 percent from beyond the arc. Gelabale signed with Valencia BC in Spain in December and played in five games in the EuroCup and Spanish League, averaging 10.8 points on 51.6 percent shooting from the floor. Gelabale has also spent time playing professionally in France, Belgium and Russia.

Gelabale played for the French National Team in the 2012 Summer Olympics, averaging 7.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists in six contests, all starts.

Timberwolves sign Chris Johnson to second 10-day contract

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed center Chris Johnson to a second 10-day contract. Johnson was originally signed to a 10-day contract on Jan. 19.

Johnson has appeared in five games for the Wolves, averaging 9.2 points, on .720 (18-for-25) shooting, and 3.8 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per game.

Johnson playing in 14 games with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA D-League this season where he was averaging 10.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 25.6 minutes in 14 games.

Johnson, 27, was a free agent invitee at the Wolves training camp this past fall. He appeared in three preseason games for Minnesota, and averaged 2.0 points and 1.0 rebounds in 5.0 minutes per game. Johnson was waived on Oct. 27, 2012.

The 6-11 center has played parts of two NBA seasons with Boston, Portland and New Orleans. He started the 2011-12 season with Portland, averaging 1.6 points and 0.9 rebounds in 20 contests. Johnson finished the 2011-12 season in New Orleans where he averaged 3.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in seven contests. In 41 career games, he holds averages of 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds.

Johnson averaged 16.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks during the 2010-11 season for the Dakota Wizards and was named the 2011 NBA D-League Defensive Player of the Year. Spent his collegiate years at Louisiana State University and went undrafted in the 2009 NBA Draft.

Rick Adelman back to coaching Timberwolves after 3 weeks away

Rick Adelman is back on the court and coaching basketball after three weeks away to help his wife through a health scare.

His Minnesota Timberwolves lost nine of 11 games without him to fall behind in the powerful Western Conference playoff race.

Adelman helped restore hope in this downtrodden franchise when he came aboard before last season. So the Timberwolves have missed him. In some ways, though, Adelman may need the Wolves as much as they need him.

Adelman ran practice Monday and said he planned to coach against the Clippers on Wednesday night if all is satisfactory with Mary Kay Adelman, who is being treated for an undisclosed condition. Adelman said he delayed his return until he felt it would be for good. He said his wife is improving and he hopes the worst is over.

”It’s hard,” Adelman said, referring to his absence. ”I’ve never done this. It’s never happened. But there’s some things that are more important than basketball or anything else. I think the team understands that. Hopefully things will settle down here now.”

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Wizards keep improving, beat Timberwolves 114-101

At the midpoint of their season, and with John Wall back in the starting lineup, the Washington Wizards finally lifted themselves off the bottom of the NBA.

Wall had 14 points and five assists in his first start of the season, and Washington finally hit double digits in wins Friday night with a 114-101 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Wizards have won four straight at home and no longer have the league’s worst record, their 10-31 record a half-game better than the Charlotte Bobcats’ 10-32.

”You’re not going to hear any good thing about your team or organization if you’re not winning games, and that’s all we’re trying to do – is just win,” Wall said. ”You don’t want to end up as the last team.”

Wall, who came off the bench for the first seven games after his return from a knee injury, had assists on the Wizards’ first two baskets in a game in which Washington never trailed. He wowed the crowd with a nice spin move for a layup late in the first half and went 6 for 10 from the field in 21 minutes, his playing time still limited after missing 33 games with a stress injury to his left knee cap..

The Wizards are 5-3 since Wall’s return after going 5-28 without him…

Jordan Crawford added 19 points, and Bradley Beal had 16 points and a career-high four blocks for the Wizards, who shot a season-high 58 percent. Beal had the best sequence for anyone not named Wall: The rookie chased down Luke Ridnour to block a fast-break layup, crashed into the front row, got up and hit a jumper at the other end to make the score 70-51 in the third…

Ricky Rubio had four points on 1-for-8 shooting, six assists, five rebounds and five turnovers, another trying day in a difficult week that included an apology to acting coach Terry Porter for getting upset over playing time in the team’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.

— Reported by Joseph White of the Associated Press