Minnesota T-Wolves Blog – Page 53 – NBA Blog

Ricky Rubio returns for Timberwolves in OT win over Mavericks

The white sleeve on Ricky Rubio’s left knee served as a reminder of what he went through to get back on the court.

While it served to protect his surgically repaired joint, it clearly does nothing to constrict the creativity and unbridled joy that made him one of the most exciting players in the league before he went down last season.

Nine long months later, it’s as if Rubio never left.

Zipping passes between his legs to his Timberwolves teammates in a dazzling season debut, Rubio had nine assists and eight points in 18 minutes of Minnesota’s 114-106 overtime victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.

Andrei Kirilenko scored five of his 14 points in overtime while Rubio watched from the bench because of a minutes restriction…

Nikola Pekovic scored 21 points for the Timberwolves, who won their fourth straight game despite playing without All-Star Kevin Love because of an illness.

O.J. Mayo had 20 points, six assists and five rebounds and Shawn Marion had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, who led by 13 early before Rubio came off the bench for the first time since he tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee in March…

Alexey Shved had 18 points and six assists and the Wolves scored the first 10 points in overtime to send an amped crowd home happy.

Derek Fisher scored 20 points for the Mavericks, who turned the ball over 20 times. They led 98-96 after Fisher’s four-point play with 2:50 to go.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Timberwolves guard Malcolm Lee out indefinitely with knee injury

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that guard Malcolm Lee has suffered a chrondal injury in his right knee and will be out indefinitely. Lee and the organization are in the process of further evaluating the injury to determine the next steps for treatment. Once a determination is made, an update to his status will be provided. The injury occurred in the second quarter of Minnesota’s 108-105 win vs. Denver on Wednesday night.

Lee, a second-year guard from UCLA, is averaging 4.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game this season. He has started 12 of the last 13 games for Minnesota and has appeared in 16 games overall. Lee scored a career-high 10 points at Philadelphia on Dec. 4.

Brandon Roy back to practice, says retirement not on mind

Brandon Roy has returned to practice on a limited, no-contact basis with the Minnesota Timberwolves a month after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee – an accomplishment by itself given the chronic problems he’s had.

The former NBA Rookie of the Year and All-Star decided to revive his career in Minnesota this season. Roy said the latest knee trouble didn’t prompt him to consider retirement, like he did a year ago when he was with Portland.

”I never thought about walking away. It was just, for me, do I want to go through another procedure? Or do I want to play through it?” Roy said Thursday.

Roy said he felt fine in training camp, but he banged knees with another player in an exhibition game against Milwaukee on Oct. 26, and the discomfort worsened after another collision in a game against Indiana on Nov. 9. He had the operation on Nov. 19.

— Reported by Dave Campbell of the Associated Press

Kevin Love drops 36 and 13 on Cavs

Kevin Love’s shooting stroke returned, and Andrei Kirilenko also was back for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The timing couldn’t have been worse for the reeling Cleveland Cavaliers.

Love had 36 points and 13 rebounds and Kirilenko delivered another solid all-around performance in the Timberwolves’ 91-73 victory over the Cavaliers on Friday night.

Love missed most of the first month of the season with a broken right hand, and he’s been struggling to regain his shooting touch since returning nine games ago. The release looked much more fluid against the Cavs, and the trajectory was better as well. He made 10 of 19 shots and 14 of 18 free throws and is cautiously optimistic that it’s all coming back to him now.

”Hopefully it’s not fool’s gold,” Love said. ”It’s a step in the right direction. I’ve been putting in work, but it’s just one game.”

Kirilenko had eight points, seven rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocks after missing four games with back spasms and Luke Ridnour added 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Timberwolves, who improved to 9-9 in their best start since the 2006-07 season.

— Reported by Jon Krawcznski of the Associated Press

Big expectations on Ricky Rubio when he returns for Timberwolves

Ricky Rubio knows that there are a lot of expectations being put on his return to the Timberwolves. He knows he is being cast as the magic sand that will fill in every crack and mask any blemish in the team’s promising, if flawed, foundation as soon as he hits the court. It’s nothing new for basketball prodigy who has been carrying the weight of expectations since he was a teenager in Spain.

“I don’t know why, but the pressure has been following me since I turned pro,” Rubio told The Associated Press on Friday. “I was 14 and I was they said I was unimpressive. `He’s too young to play. He’s not going to do well.’ And I did well back in Spain.

“The pressure followed me when I came here and they said, `Oh Ricky’s coming after two years, he’s going to bring everything to this team.’ It’s just hard, but it’s something that I’m used to. I like the pressure, I like the challenge. The more difficult the challenge, the better it is for me.”

What makes this hurdle different than any other he’s had to leap before it is that Rubio is recovering from his first significant injury. It’s been almost nine months since he tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee late in a game against the Lakers, ending a terrific rookie season and sucking the life right out of a young Timberwolves team that he helped return to relevance in the Western Conference.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

David Kahn denies latest Timberwolves-Lakers Pau Gasol rumor

David Kahn made a special guest media appearance at shootaround this morning to shoot down Thursday’s ESPN.com — the latest in a series of semi-regular such rumors — that the Lakers are refusing Wolves’ overtures for Pau Gasol.

Kahn said he hasn’t talked to the Lakers since last June. He didn’t say this, but that was when he was talking with the Lakers about a bigger deal that would have brought Gasol here and sent away Derrick Williams, probably to a third team.

The latest ESPN.com said the Lakers had turned down a Wolves deal built around Williams and Nikola Pekovic.

— Reported by Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Timberwolves find success with international players

Now, in just a few seasons, David Kahn and international scouting coordinator Pete Philo have given meat-and-potatoes Minnesota an international flavor as they’ve turned the Twin Cities into a destination location for top players from basketball hotbeds throughout Europe.

Ricky Rubio, Andrei Kirilenko, Alexey Shved, Nikola Pekovic, JJ Barea. Minnesota has five international players on the roster, tied with Cleveland for second-most in the NBA. San Antonio has eight international players, a league record.

“I think it’s pretty evident to me that there’s a lot of not just good players, but some of the very best players in our game who have come from overseas,” Kahn said. “To me, it’s just a natural extension of scouting. Just as you can’t afford to be negligent about the domestic side, you can’t afford to not be on top of matters internationally.”

The renewed focus is one of the biggest reasons the Timberwolves are competitive again in the powerful Western Conference. The Wolves drafted Rubio in 2009 – even though some mistakenly speculated he wanted to play in a bigger market – and the Spanish point guard turned into one of the most exciting young players in the NBA.

They signed Russian teammates Kirilenko and Shved this offseason, and the two have helped them weather a rough string of injuries early in the season.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Lakers reportedly turned down Timberwolves trade offer for Pau Gasol

The Los Angeles Lakers recently rejected a Timberwolves trade offer for forward Pau Gasol that would revolve around Minnesota center Nikola Pekovic and forward Derrick Williams, according to an ESPN.com report citing sources with knowledge of the Lakers’ thinking.

The report claimed that the Lakers also turned down an offer from the Toronto Raptors.

Wolves president of basketball operations David Kahn was unavailable for comment Thursday morning, Dec. 6.

This is not the first time the 32 year-old Gasol, a friend of Spanish countryman and Wolves point guard Ricky Rubio, has been linked to trade talks with Minnesota. The Wolves reportedly pursued Gasol in talks before the 2012 draft and last season’s trade deadline. Williams, the No. 2 pick in the 2011 draft, was mentioned as possible trade bait for Gasol in the past. So were then-Wolves forward Michael Beasley and a first-round pick.

— Reported by Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press

Ricky Rubio says he feels good after first practice with Timberwolves

Ricky Rubio practiced with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, Dec. 2, for the first time this season. He says his surgically repaired left knee feels good, and he’s anxious to see how his body responds on Monday.

There is still no timetable for his first game. Rubio says he wants to be sure his knee is 100 percent before he comes back. Rubio tore the anterior cruciate ligament and lateral collateral ligament in his knee last March.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Ricky Rubio cleared to practice for Timberwolves

Ricky Rubio health update: Now cleared for full-contact practices

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that guard Ricky Rubio has been cleared to participate in full-contact practices with no limitations after consultation with Dr. Richard Steadman in Vail, Colorado. With the final medical hurdle being cleared, Rubio will now practice with the team. Rubio and the Wolves medical staff will assess his ability to participate in an NBA game after monitoring his progress during these practices.

Rubio had surgery on March 21, 2012 to reconstruct a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and a torn LCL (lateral collateral ligament) in his left knee. The surgery was performed by Dr. Steadman at The Steadman Clinic in Vail. Rubio’s injury occurred with 16 seconds remaining in the Timberwolves game vs. the L.A. Lakers on March 9, 2012.

Rubio, acquired by Minnesota with the fifth overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, appeared in 41 games (31 starts) for the Wolves during his rookie season, averaging 10.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 2.22 steals. He compiled 12 point/assist double-doubles and dished out 10+ assists on 15 occasions. At the time of his injury, Rubio ranked 3rd in the NBA in steals and 5th in assists.