Ok, here’s how this one’s going down.  Obviously Bonk and I weren’t at the game as it was at the Palace in Auburn Hills.  Anyhow… I was enjoying…..ummm…*soda’s* during this game.  So, my thoughts are unedited and unadulterated.  Here’s my objective quarter by quater breakdown of tonight’s festitivites:

First Quarter:

Great first quarter, we built and maintained a big sized lead. It was good to see us go ahead again after letting them come back and tie it. KG and Hassell both played GREAT, which is good to see. No more voting Hassell down Ebel, you jerk. You got JReed, that should be good enough for you. (from the forums, if ya don’t know… check it out!)  Darn that sly guy from Kentucky, Prince, he’s playing well. He and Rip can’t miss for the life of them. Let’s hope we maintain the lead.

Haha, no way I was gonna put 10K down on this game like I did last year lol. Go Wolves!

Second Quarter:

What an absolute crap quarter. Only 15 points, after scoring 27 the first… ugh. At one point the Pistons went on a 17-1.  Hey, on the bright side Casey called a timeout at one point during their run.  That’s encouraging…. Sigh. I guess the NBA is a game of runs though huh? We came back somewhat, which was nice to see. KG is our rock, that is obvious (sometimes painfully) He had two nice steals in a row which helped us make a mini run towards the end of the quarter to keep in close going into halftime. A good game by Hassell so far. Mike James made a big shot after a long sit down. It will be interesting to see how our two point guards play in the second half. Go Wolves…

Third Quarter:

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GUARD RIP HAMILTON!?!?! He’s got 25 points on like 60% shooting. Jeez, that’s not good. Even an armchair fan like myself knows that much!

At least Hassell showed up. His offensive and overall play has improved exponentially the last few weeks. He had some HUGE O boards this quarter. Glad to see we got someone other than KG getting some rebounds for this team. We gotta take the burden off KG so that he can do everything else that he does so well.

Mike James, wow, terrible third. I thought he might come out strong. I guess I was wrong, way wrong. He is just a defensive sive out there. He also had some bad turnovers and passes. We need more from our starting PG than he is giving us. I guess that’s what happens when you sign a 31 year old journey man as your starting PG.

KG….. was KG4MVP. That’s all I gotta say. What did he have, three huge blocks this quarter? On top of absolutely shutting down Rasheed (who hasn’t done jack shyt) and some key baskets. KG is his normal KG self. The leading vote getter for forward All-Star voting. Where would we be without him?

Blount isn’t having a great game. I can’t hate on him though, for how well he has been playing lately. It would just be nice to see him get it together and finish strong.

Ricky had some good plays and drives to the rim. I wish he would do that more often. Honestly, I can’t understand his propensity to take so many jumpers the past 1.5 years?  I mean, he’s got all the skills to take it hard to the rim and draw fouls ala Maggette.  I’d trade Ricky D straight up for Maggette, but if the Clips won’t do it, we gotta work with what we got.  I think Casey just needs to hammer home the point that he should be driving to the rim, but I am not sure if Casy is capable of being that kind of coach.  On the bright side, Ricky has been shooting in the high 30’s for threes this month in January, which is huge.  He is filling a HUGE void that we have needed ever since we lost Fred and then Wally.

Three tall…….um…..soda’s down. Go Wolves…..?

Fourth Quarter and OT:

I guess to answer my question: No, no one can guard Rip Hamilton. With that said, WOLVES WIN BABY!!!

20-16, we are one of the hottest teams in the league right now… and that ain’t no lie.

How money was Hassell? I think he had 8(?) O boards? We WOULD NOT have won without that contribution. Some of those boards were absolutely critical.

KG hit em when it counted. 22+ points, 14 boards, 5 blocks, 5 assists? How is this guy NOT getting MVP consideration? The thing is, it’s not a one game wonder, he brings it game in and game out. Probably the most consistent player in the league. He has more double doubles alone than like a third of the TEAMS in the league. That’s just sick. We might not be winning championships like the Patriots, but at least we can watch and savor KG 82 games a year.

Blount. Not a great game, but how about that MONEY three? He shot like 2 threes before this season. Where is this confidence coming from? My guess is that since he normally shoots so far out, its just a mental thing. A few more steps back and he can still hit it. And guess what, those count as three points.

Our PG’s… Foye played well. I still dunno if he should be starting, even though I have been clamoring for him. I wish we had another option. James is the over priced old guy that was boosting his stats on a crappy team last year, while Foye still has a lot to learn. The thing that bugs me the most about Foye is how stagnant he can make our offense. Too much dribbling with his head down. Perhaps he will learn on the job? He is showing a HUGE amount of promise, I’ll admit that. He has the tenacity to take key shots (and has been hitting them lately) so I can’t fault him for that.

Overall, a GREAT win for the Wolves at the harsh grounds of Auburn Hills. Keep it up Wolves, 20-16.

CW