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Game previews:
A rough estimate by Jonny Flynn concludes he’s already suffered more losses as a pro than at Niagara Falls High and Syracuse University combined.

That’s why Flynn is looking forward to his “homecoming” tonight when his Minnesota Timberwolves face the Toronto Raptors in the Air Canada Center in Toronto for the first time this season.

“I can’t wait,” Flynn said. “I know there are going to be a lot of people from home there so I can get some of that home-style love. I had to get a lot of tickets and I’ve been asking everyone on the team for their tickets.”

Stephen Litel/Downtown Journal talked to Jonny Flynn last week about the player’s adjustment to the NBA.
SL: With the rough start, how difficult is it to stay upbeat? How are you and your team able to remain positive and continue to work, develop and fight?

JF: I think we have a good locker room. We have a good locker room and a good coaching staff that won’t allow us to walk around and be down about what’s going on. It’s early on in the season and there’s a lot of time to turn it around. We just have to take the positive things out of what we’re doing. It’s tough to say that with a bunch of competitors and we want to win every game, but if we sit down, look at some of the things that we do and try to expand on them, you can see a lot of positives.

From Benjamin Polk/City Pages: Timberwolves turn back the clock

From The 600 Project: Perhaps progress at the quarter pole

There is a sense that the team has turned the corner with superb victories on top of Denver and Utah. For the first time this year, Minnesota is looking to put together back-to-back wins in Toronto on Tuesday night. Rambis will forge ahead with the addition of offensive sets in the midst of a rigorous NBA schedule.

“We’re going to continue to add as players get more and more comfortable and we see how teams are defending us and what they’re options are, we’ve got to continue to expand and grow and look at other opportunities,” Rambis said.

The Wolves have been noticeably more competitive in the past week, and while Love’s return is rightly being given much of the credit, Ellington’s improvement is playing a part, too.

In the past three games, the 28th pick in last June’s draft has made 13 of his 21 shots, the first time Ellington has hit better than 50 percent in one game, let alone three. He’s posted the first two double-digit games of his career, averaging 10 points, and in Saturday’s victory over Utah, he didn’t commit a turnover in 24 minutes.
Love is not expected to be on the bench too long after tonight’s tip-off. Rambis sent him into Saturday’s game to replace Damien Wilkins with 6:24 left in the first quarter. Love played the rest of the quarter and the first two minutes of the second quarter before coming out. Love and Jefferson played together the final seven minutes of Saturday’s game, a combination that many people anticipated before Love was injured in the Oct. 16 exhibition game in Chicago.

Love’s conditioning likely will determine when his playing time increases. Rambis is not surprised that Love has been able to contribute despite having to catch up on new concepts with the offense and defense.

“Kevin has done a great job of staying focused and staying up on what we’ve been doing,” Rambis said. “He knows things in his head. It’s just a matter of him putting his body through it and getting the timing down.”

 

From ESPN: Top 10 Other Teen Athletes
8. Ricky Rubio
The Timberwolves couldn’t get Rubio, who last year at age 17 became the youngest Olympic basketball medalist, to leave Spain. (Nice job, guys.) So we can’t watch the world’s most exciting teenage baller this year.