From Stop-n-Pop/Canis Hoopus: Adding to the Wolves Dictionary
From Benjamin Polk/City Pages: Timberwolves let one melt away
On one channel, one could watch the further maturation of Jonny Flynn, who had 14 points and 9 assists — which might have been good enough to lead the Wolves over the Hornets and Chris Paul if Flynn hadn’t, you know, forgotten to follow Paul to the hoop on the game’s most critical play. Still, for anyone who watched it was a reminder that Flynn has the tools and makeup to be a very effective point guard in the NBA for a long time.
The part that hurts the most about the loss? On the second night of a back to back, the Wolves were up 16 in the second half, before allowing the Hornets to come back. Ouch. The Wolves are playing better, but they’ve got to learn to close these games out. Rookie seasons are for learning lessons and making mistakes and Flynn is doing both. Here’s to hoping the learning curve stays steep and the mistakes slow with time.
From Anthony Macri/Basketball Prospectus: Caught in the Triangle   Minnesota Adapts  (Via TrueHoop)
So where are the Wolves falling short? Three major areas: fast-break and secondary-break actions, lack of precision in their offensive execution and a failure to embrace what triangle innovator Tex Winter would call the “ping” pass.
From David Thorpe/ESPN: Sophomore 20: Lopez the new No. 1
Honorable mentions…
Kevin Love, Timberwolves | Previous rank: NR
Look for Love in this report at the end of the month. He’s been doing everything for the Wolves, who have been more competitive since he returned from injury. He’s even making 3s, which is a huge weapon for a team nearly devoid of deep threats. He’s 5-for-8 so far, after making just 2-of-19 last season.
Kevin Love’s winter coat drive is in full gear and now that cold has arrived for us, it’s time for all of us to help those less fortunate. Please don’t forget while you are moving through your busy holiday season to take an extra few moments and pull a few of the coats out and put ’em in a bag for Love. The Kevin Love Coat Drive will accept any new or gently used coat and check this Web site out for the six metro-area drop-off locations, including the Target Center Box Office through December 16.
Ricky Rubio’s undefeated Regal FC Barcelona team plays Cibona of Croatia on Saturday at noon on NBA TV. The Spanish point guard and Timberwolves top draft pick is averaging 5.2 assists a game…
The Timberwolves’ Al Jefferson trails Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire by only 339,100 votes in all-star balloting for Western Conference centers.