- Jonny Flynn -25 +/- in 21 minutes of action
- Al Jefferson the only starter with a positive +/- with a +1 in 24 minutes of action
- Tony Parker notched a +30 in 23 minutes of action
- Brian Cardinal played 11 minutes
- Ryan Hollins played 12 minutes and still couldn’t manage to grab more rebounds than personal fouls he committed
- Love played 23 minutes
- Sasha Pavlobrick was the TWolves leading scorer
- The End.
SAN ANTONIO—Keith Bogans scored 17 points and the San Antonio Spurs kept control over their playoff future with a 133-111 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.
Tim Duncan had 16 points before the Spurs emptied their bench early and stayed on track to avoid the dreaded No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and a first-round meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Spurs can clinch at least the No. 7 seed with a win in their regular season finale Wednesday against Dallas — a game that could also be a playoff preview.
SAN ANTONIO — An 11th consecutive 50-win season will come with few if any postseason perks.
Keith Bogans scored 17 points and Tim Duncan had 16, and the Spurs kept some control over their playoff future in the close Western Conference race with a 133-11 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.
The Spurs’ latest 50-win campaign leaves them one short of tying the NBA record of 12 straight by the Lakers from 1979-91. But whereas San Antonio enjoyed high playoff seeds and home-court advantages in previous years, it will start this postseason on the road.
Why stop there, from the Pioneer Press:
Minnesota’s dreadful season ends Wednesday against Detroit. If the Timberwolves don’t win, they’ll tie the 1991-92 team for worst record in the 21-year history of the franchise.
“If it happens, it was just meant to happen,” said Wolves forward Al Jefferson, who scored 13 points. “That’s how I look at it. Of course, we don’t want it to happen, but it’s life.”
After the Wolves lost for the 22nd time in 23 games, coach Kurt Rambis said he’s “sure everybody’s fairly ready” for the season to be over.
“We’ve got one game left, and I hope for them to come out and give a positive showing. Leave with a good taste in their mouths for over the summer,” Rambis said. “This team was not built to win this year. We knew that.”
As opposites go, these two look as if they’re in sync
From Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune:
Rambis and Wolves boss David Kahn on Tuesday will begin three days of end-of-season meetings with players on a team that now has lost six consecutive, 22 of its past 23 and could equal the franchise’s worst record (15-67 in 1991-92) with a loss to Detroit.
“I don’t think this team doesn’t care,” Jefferson said, referring to the record. “We go out every night and try to win as many games as possible. We go out every night and try to do our job. If we tie the record, it was meant to happen.”
– I don’t even have energy to comment.
Target Center does not compare to the Twins Target Field
From Jay Weiner, MinnPost:
A sports facility is about to open in the Minneapolis Warehouse District. It is a monument to a new age in sports economics. It has about 60 luxury suites to aid in the team’s finances and to satisfy the desire of high-end customers. It has wider concourses than other previous Twin Cities facilities to allow for more points of sale for food and souvenirs. It recognizes that females are sports fans, too, what with the necessary abundance of women’s bathrooms.
Remember that anticipation? It was 20 years ago.
That’s when a dazzling new-wave sports palace known as Target Center opened to much fanfare for its prime tenant, the NBA Timberwolves. The building was especially applauded for being privately built by two North Minneapolis success stories named Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner, health-club entrepreneurs turned major league sports owners.
– Well what do you expect? Target Field is frickin awesome. Not really the Wolves fault here.
Timberwolves Sign Greg Stiemsma From The D-League
From Ridiculous Upside:
Former Wisconsin Badger Greg Stiemsma has been called up the Minnesota Timberwolves according to agent Mike Naiditch. This move also likely locks him up for the NBA Summer League schedule as well as next season’s preseason roster.
The 6-foot-11 Sioux Falls Skyforce center averaged 8.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.6 blocks during the D-League’s regular season while averaging a little over 30 minutes of playing time. Stiemsma came up with a much more impressive playoff performance, though, by averaging 15 points, 10.7 rebounds and and 4.3 blocks while shooting 58% from the field in three games for Sioux Falls before his team ultimately lost their first round series to the Tulsa 66ers.
– Holy crap, about time we sign a promising young D-Leaguer. Gee, what an amazing concept. I mean, seriously. And this guy can’t be worse than the epically worthless Ryan Hollins (c’mon, so close to more fouls than rebounds this year!) Good grief, what took so long for something like this to happen? And they FINALLY do it with 1 game left? What a fail. Too bad the Warriors already nabbed all the best D-Leaguers. God. Suck.
In Case You Missed It:
– Free tickets to the Wolves season finale this Wednesday vs the Pistons. Actually a great deal here, surprisingly. Check out the post for more info.
– “You Be The Wolves GM” This is just cool. A great read for whatever Wolves fans are still out there. A wealth of goodness can be found HERE.
Around The NBA News:
Bloguin NBA Roundtable: NCAA vs NBA pt. 1
A Bloguin NBA Blogs collaboration, via Hoops Manifesto:
It is an age-old debate among basketball aficionados – which brand of hoops is best, the NBA or the NCAA. While there is no right or wrong answer to this question – it basically comes down to personal preference – that doesn’t stop people from having very strong opinions on the subject. In that vein we present to you the latest Bloguin Basketball Roundtable – NCAA vs NBA.
Participants in this battle royale are Jeff Fox of The Hoops Manifesto, Don from With Malice, a Bloguin newcomer in Ezra of The Purple and Gold Blog, Dave “College Wolf” Kelsey of TWolves Blog, David Pustilink from Da Bulls’ Eye, Gene Zarnick of Favre Dollar Footlongs and A Stern Warning’s mookie.
Injured Kobe to miss final 2 regular season games
By Dave McMenamin, ESPNLosAngeles.com
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Kobe Bryant, who sat out two games last week to rest his legs and alleviate swelling in his right knee before returning to play in the Lakers’ 91-88 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, will not play in the Lakers’ final two games of the regular season because of the avulsion fracture in his right index finger, a team spokesman announced Monday.
– Hahaha.
Brandon Roy needs surgery. Might play through it for the playoffs, might be done
From the AP:
Camby’s boost came after Blazers guard Brandon Roy announced he had a torn meniscus in his right knee. The injury will keep the three-time All-Star out of Portland’s regular-season finale against Golden State, and his status for the playoffs is uncertain.
His injury is the latest to befall the seemingly jinxed Blazers, who lost both Greg Oden and fellow center Joel Przybilla to season-ending knee injuries. A total of 13 Blazers have missed a combined 307 games this season.
– Man, that’s just brutal. Has one team ever been more decimated by injuries in a single season than the Blazers this year? I don’t think so. I can’t get over all their injuries. Just insane.
NBA Regular Season Wrapup and Grades
From Chris Mannix, CNNSI.com:
Another season of Power Rankings is in the books, and to close it out, we decided to change it up a bit. In lieu of the traditional rankings, we’re handing out season-ending grades, acknowledging those who scored near-perfect marks (Cleveland, Milwaukee and Oklahoma City), those who failed (Minnesota and Washington) and every team in between. And so, without further ado …
(All stats and records are through April 11.)