Wolf huntin'

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A boost in confidence -- and offense -- have the Minnesota Timberwolves playing their best basketball of the season. The Detroit Pistons could use a similar lift in both of those areas.

The Timberwolves (19-16) try to continue their impressive run when they visit the Pistons (21-14) on Monday in the teams' first meeting this season.

Minnesota closed out 2006 with a 13-15 mark but has won six of seven games in the new year, including a 109-98 victory over New Jersey on Saturday.

The Timberwolves improved to 13-2 when scoring 100 or points or more, and have hit triple digits in six of their last seven contests after doing it just nine times in the previous 28.

"We're on a big roll," Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett said. "We're playing confident basketball."

Garnett has sparked that confidence by averaging 27.0 points over the last seven games, a bump up from his 22.8 season mark. The Timberwolves star matched his season high with 32 points Saturday, going 11-for-11 from the free-throw line, and grabbed 14 rebounds to surpass 10,000 for his career. He's the 32nd player in NBA history to hit the milestone.

He got plenty of help in the win, as Ricky Davis scored 17 points while Randy Foye and Mark Blount both bounced back from single-digit performances with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Minnesota shot a season-high 56.9 percent (37-of-65) from the floor and went 32-of-35 from the free-throw line to earn a double-digit margin of victory for the first time in its last six wins.

"I definitely think it's going to be like this for the rest of the year. We might get some games where we're able to blow it open or open the doors," Foye said. "Us playing these close games now is preparing us for the end (of the season)."

The Pistons haven't had much luck in close games lately. All but two of their last nine games have been decided by less than 10 points -- and they've recorded just three wins during that span.

Detroit is coming off one of those victories Saturday, though, defeating Boston 81-73 despite recording its second-lowest point total of 2006-07 and shooting a season-worst 34.1 percent (29-for-85).

"We're struggling, and all our guys know that," said Pistons second-year coach Flip Saunders, the Timberwolves' all-time winningest coach at 411-326 in nine-plus seasons in Minnesota. "(Saturday), the effort was there, and that's what has been missing. We just need to find a flow again and just start playing."

Four of Detroit's starters scored in double figures Saturday. Leading scorer Richard Hamilton had 22 points and Flip Murray added 21 as he continued to start in place of injured guard Chauncey Billups, who has missed seven games with a strained right calf.

The Pistons are hoping to get their second-leading scorer back midweek. Minnesota is again expected to be without forward Marko Jaric, who has been sidelined for two straight games with an injured thumb on his shooting hand.

The Pistons won both matchups with the Wolves last season by an average of 20.0 points, and have taken four of the last five meetings in Detroit. The clubs meet again Friday in Minneapolis.

Link (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview;_ylt=AqkFgZBzCrVpmHXrQs9xwqm8vLYF?gid=2007 011508)

Don't forget about the afternoon game, guys.

CWebb in attendance, maybe? he should get a good crowd reaction.....

Webber is counting his payout money. Man thats gravy. One fat ass check.

I thought the thread said the game was at 3:00, I was freaking out that it wasn't coming on. I live in Toledo so sometimes my FSD turns into an Ohio Fox Sports channel and I miss things.

I hope Nazr has the game of his life so we can get a little extra for him, maybe Jaric and a 2nd rounder or something from them. We already have their 2nd from next year.

game chat?

http://wtfdetroit.com/chat/flashchat.php

What did KG and DD get technicals for?

5 assists for Flip Murray in the 1st qtr.

dont know. didnt see any scuffle.

watching the game and studying just doesn't work.

5 assists for Flip Murray in the 1st qtr.
misleading in the flip offense. kick it to the jump shooter on the side and watch him shoot. all of those on that except one.

NICE play by Hunter

hunter served ricky davis

Lindsey's back, huh?

I see Nazr still in the game with 2 fouls early in the 2nd.

Interesting.

we're gonna get our asses kicked. but we get two all stars some time this week.

Lindsey's back, huh?

I see Nazr still in the game with 2 fouls early in the 2nd.

Interesting.
left as soon as you his the reply button.

He'll be back, gotta showcase the talent for the buyer.

Why does FlipM drive to the basket against guys twice his size? Also, what is with the face he makes every time he does it?

Lindsey plays 2 minutes and is back out for Flip.

Did he reinjure himself?

Lindsey plays 2 minutes and is back out for Flip.

Did he reinjure himself?

They're probably just giving him short stints to see how he feels.

Yeah Carlos, take it to the hole!

That was a very nice Delfino pass to Dale. Good fake to get the defenders into the air.

I just read where McCosky said Hunter wasn't even close to coming back. This guy seems like an idiot.

Garnett just blocked FlipM, and you could hear the player chatter:

"Get that shit outta here nigga"

Wow, the EXACT same thing happened, and Garnett said the exact same thing. I did a double-take thinking it was a replay. Garnett has blocked FlipM on the drive 4 times now.

Rip had a few choice words for KG after that dunk.......

Saw the KG thing. Prolly not the words MLK would have used.

Saw the Rip thing too. Thought that showed some team unity.

LOL@nazr getting fouls than points...lol

Delfino and Dyess hitting their season strides. They could be an X factor the rest of the season depending on the trades we make.

Rasheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed Wallace for 3!

LOL@nazr getting fouls than points...lol

Delfino and Dyess hitting their season strides. They could be an X factor the rest of the season depending on the trades we make.

Dice I could see, I just haven't seen a lot of game changing performances by Delfi.

Dice I could see, I just haven't seen a lot of game changing performances by Delfi.
then you have a different pair glasses. thats best i can think of or you just ignore everything that doesnt show up in the stat line. either way can't agree with that. but to each his own.

Murray had a horrid first half, but he hasn't looked horrible in the last few minutes here. If he had any consistency at all, he'd be such a better player.

Murray had a horrid first half, but he hasn't looked horrible in the last few minutes here. If he had any consistency at all, he'd be such a better player.
the worst part about him is that he has it stuck in his head that he can't do anything unless he starts. which is why he'll fall back off when billups gets back.

Damn, Lindsey!!!!

wow, way to give up the body for the play.

for all those people dissing hunter and ignoring his defense. shame on you.

Hunter, taking one for the team. He may not be the best guy to have distributing the ball or the best guy taking the big shots, but he's perfect for situations like this.

HAHAHAHA....he pulled a Flip Murray and got blocked :D

Fan-freaking-tastic block by Dice.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oohhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

robbed!! Rip shoulda had continuation on that one!!

we got robbed!!!!!!!!!

McDyess hurting? Put in Max to start overtime. He's still got fresh legs and TONS of energy.

McDyess hurting? Put in Max to start overtime. He's still got fresh legs and TONS of energy.

i'd definitely like to see that......would be the smart thing to do.

Wade gets half his points on free throws, Hamilton has 26 points and only 2 are from free throws.

McDyess is obviously hurting, get him out of there Flip.

dyess owns all. trade him my ass.

DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE with the block on KG. Fuck'n A Dice.

I stand corrected.

Apparently I was very wrong - :mccosky:

I stand corrected.

Apparently I was very wrong - :mccosky:
LMAO

Dice had KG shaking in his boots

Fuck

Blount never attempted 3P shots until this year.

Fuck fuck fuck.

come on.........we need a miracle

(or a quick foul)

bah, we got neither.

we did better than i expected, but it still hurts. I can't wait to see what we have next week.

Sheed was absolutely horrible!!!! I hope that he starts to play once he's alongside Webber. If not we need to trade him but with his contract there might not be many takers. McDyess has been outplaying him both offensively and defensively as of late.

Sheed will play better. the mob needs to lay off. Just a week ago Dyess was bootleg garbage and should be traded...lol

i've seen plenty. he brings instant energy and hustle, along with some good steals, rebounding and nice passes to set other guys up.

he's not without his flaws but overall he is an emerging player. just give him more minutes and tell him to take it to the hoop more often.

Sheed played great kids. You go guard KG and lead your team in rebounds.

Sheed is the ONLY player in the starting lineup playing any kind of consistent defense. He's on an island, game after game.

If you're looking for money trey bombs, slick passes and lots of post-ups, it ain't happening. These guards couldn't feed the post to save their lives.

The guy everyone should be bitching about is Tayshaun. He's back to pulling disappearing acts every 4 or 5 games. When the teams needs him to score 20 and pull down 8 boards, you get 7 assists and 12 points, 4 boards and a lot of soft defense.

Sheed played great kids. You go guard KG and lead your team in rebounds.

Sheed is the ONLY player in the starting lineup playing any kind of consistent defense. He's on an island, game after game.

If you're looking for money trey bombs, slick passes and lots of post-ups, it ain't happening. These guards couldn't feed the post to save their lives.

The guy everyone should be bitching about is Tayshaun. He's back to pulling disappearing acts every 4 or 5 games. When the teams needs him to score 20 and pull down 8 boards, you get 7 assists and 12 points, 4 boards and a lot of soft defense.

I agree.

Tay has been inconsistent as a motherfucker in shooting. one day youd be seeing Tay go 3-3 from ball land while the next game youd see him go 1-7...

Sheed played great kids. You go guard KG and lead your team in rebounds.

Sheed is the ONLY player in the starting lineup playing any kind of consistent defense. He's on an island, game after game.


Since when does Sheed play consistent defense? He plays decent D against the big name PFs, and doesn't care 90% of the rest of the time. Opposing teams play-by-play guys (on League Pass) are always bringing up his lack of effort on the defensive end.

BTW, Sheed's now shooting 41.2% on the season. As SEVEN FOOTER. That's quality right there.

Just finished watching the highlights.

Blount...with a 3?! Well honestly I dont blame the Pistons on that 3 ball...who the fuck would have thought BLOUNT would have been a threat

Delfino had some really nice plays and needs more PT!

That rip to Tayshaun ally oop has always worked. It's so damn consistent

Took my 3 year old to the game (her first Piston game). Can't say I saw much of it until the last 4 minutes or so. The highlight of the night was when she actually told me she had to go to the bathroom (she's shown very little interest in potty training and its been a struggle for a while now). Family bathrooms are outside section 104 btw.

Fries and a coke cost a man $9. Called for tickets about an hour and a half before the game started. They left them at will-call. I've done this before and never had a problem but this time we got to the Palace so close to tip-off that I had to park on the opposite side of the main entrance and so I didn't walk all the way around and just stopped at one of their little box offices. Got a teller with a mental problem (that's not an insult, she seriously was a bit slow and had trouble speaking). I thought it was great that she could hold down a job but I wasn't happy about watching most of the 1st quarter on the monitor behind her head while she figured out how to print off my tickets. I think it was bad training really as the guy over her shoulder who didn't appear mentally challenged was just as hopeless in front of the computer screen.

That non-shooting foul on Rip at the end of regulation was bullshit. The whole crowd thought it was a game winner. From seeing it live (no replay) it looked like Rip knew what they were going to use their last foul (as he should know) and shot as soon as (Davis?) got close to him. In any other situation it was a no-brainer continuation. Rip didn't dribble and only took a lift-off step as he was being grabbed.

The crowd gave Webber a standing ovation. My daughter loves to boo and I think the thing she likes best about the games is how everyone cheers all the time and seemingly for no reason. She'll be turned around looking at her seat and then all of a sudden the crowd errupts and she does a jumping turn-around and yells as lowd as she can. Wait, cancel that. She likes Hooper the best. She was looking for him the whole game. First time I've ever taken my camera to a game. Most of the shots are of Hooper.

Can we please get rid of Flip Murray ASAP? How does a guy that is 6'2" and in the NBA lose the damn ball so much? Every time he beat his man off the dribble he proceded to lose the ball (sometimes regaining it) and ruin any driving chance. The few times he didn't he served the ball up on a platter to KG. He is a terrible PG. I loved seeing Hunter in there diving for the ball. I'd rather see him for 15 minutes a night playing D than Flip. Flip does the same crap Arroyo did here too (wasting 3/4 of the shot clock dribbling before forcing someone to jack up a hurried shot). He actually tries to play defense, but is out of postion most of the time. He left his man open for shots a lot late in the game and I can't think of one PG he's kept in front of him either.

BTW, I thought Sheed played well in post defense, but he didn't get to anyone shooting jump shots. I think his feet are keeping him from getting to players outside the paint. He can't rotate to anyone right now. I don't think it's a lack of hustle, but the injuries limiting his defensive range right now. Hopefully that changes. Hopefully a combination of Webber here and Maxiel playing well will get Sheed some more rest.

http://www.jimmybeanswool.com/secure-html/productImages/426group.jpg

I agree, three skeins of yarn, three skeins.

Alpaca yarn.

Took my 3 year old to the game (her first Piston game). Can't say I saw much of it until the last 4 minutes or so. The highlight of the night was when she actually told me she had to go to the bathroom (she's shown very little interest in potty training and its been a struggle for a while now). Family bathrooms are outside section 104 btw.

Fries and a coke cost a man $9. Called for tickets about an hour and a half before the game started. They left them at will-call. I've done this before and never had a problem but this time we got to the Palace so close to tip-off that I had to park on the opposite side of the main entrance and so I didn't walk all the way around and just stopped at one of their little box offices. Got a teller with a mental problem (that's not an insult, she seriously was a bit slow and had trouble speaking). I thought it was great that she could hold down a job but I wasn't happy about watching most of the 1st quarter on the monitor behind her head while she figured out how to print off my tickets. I think it was bad training really as the guy over her shoulder who didn't appear mentally challenged was just as hopeless in front of the computer screen.

That non-shooting foul on Rip at the end of regulation was bullshit. The whole crowd thought it was a game winner. From seeing it live (no replay) it looked like Rip knew what they were going to use their last foul (as he should know) and shot as soon as (Davis?) got close to him. In any other situation it was a no-brainer continuation. Rip didn't dribble and only took a lift-off step as he was being grabbed.

The crowd gave Webber a standing ovation. My daughter loves to boo and I think the thing she likes best about the games is how everyone cheers all the time and seemingly for no reason. She'll be turned around looking at her seat and then all of a sudden the crowd errupts and she does a jumping turn-around and yells as lowd as she can. Wait, cancel that. She likes Hooper the best. She was looking for him the whole game. First time I've ever taken my camera to a game. Most of the shots are of Hooper.

LOL, great story, Fool. glad to hear you and your little girl had a good time.

and yeah, Rip's shot should have been the game winner.

Thanks Matt. Btw, how do you not go to the tripple pick for that last second attempt? Rip was guarded by Davis again, I would have loved to have a vid showing Davis getting fucked by the same play twice for game winners against Rip while the dude was on different teams.