THE SCOUTING REPORT

Take it away, HighTops:

The T-Wolves had four wins in January, three wins in February and are winless so far in March. They have only had one victory since the All-Star break, a road win in Miami. But their schedule was tough with two against OKC, two against DAL, plus HOU, SAS, DEN, POR, and Eastern Conference teams CHI, ATL, WAS and DET. Since the beginning of March there’s been some turmoil involving the line-up which may have had more to do with the record than the competition.

The day before the trade deadline Minnesota acquired 7-0 center Darko Milicic and cash considerations from the New York Knicks in exchange for forward Brian Cardinal. Darko had been coming off the bench since joining the team.

Then on March 3rd, Al Jefferson began serving a team-issued two-game suspension, stemming from his arrest on suspicion of DWI. So Milicic started at center and Ryan Hollins started at PF, with Kevin Love still coming off the bench. Jefferson returned for Monday’s game against Dallas, in which Hollins got called for a flagrant foul for hitting Dirk Nowitzki in the head and was ejected from the game. Hollins started serving his league two-game suspension Wed. against Denver so Darko started at center again and he, Love and Jefferson all had double digit rebounds with Milicic leading the way with 12. Friday against SAS, Darko started at center for the 3rd straight game and had 12/5 on 5-6 shooting as Hollins served the 2nd day of his two-game suspension. And, they were without Kevin Love, who is day-to-day with a mid-foot sprain.

Minnesota’s front office seems to have given up on this season. This is the latest sales pitch from Timberwolves web page:

"New basketball boss, new coaches, new players, new hope. And just when you thought the season was winding down we’re really cranking things up: A 2010 draft with two -- or possibly even three -- first-round draft picks, and massive cap room for this summer’s free-agency market.

"Combine that with being one year closer to Ricky Rubio and maybe signing European big man Nikola Pekovic, and you have a recipe for another exciting offseason."

I think it’s safe to say that the players aren’t willing to just hand the Kings a win.  So with the injuries healed and the suspensions served, the Wolves will bring the fight to Sacramento.

In his short stay, Darko is averaging 5pts/5.8rebs/1.2assts and 1.2 blocks, which is almost twice what Hollins averages except for pts where Hollins averages 6.8 ppg. So I wouldn’t be surprised if Hollins has lost his starting spot to Darko.

In his three games in March, Al Jefferson is averaging 22pts/10.7rebs and 1.7 blks, which are all higher than his seasonal averages. The addition of Darko?

While Kevin Love, the teams 2nd highest scorer, is shooting below his seasonal average with 13pts/9.6rebs on 38% shooting, his poor performance may be due to the foot injury.

Jonny Flynn and Ramon Sessions are the PGs and combine for 21.6pts/7.6assts. Sessions doesn’t shoot the three, but is slightly better from the field at 46% while Flynn shoots 42% from the field and 35% from three. Both will go to the rim, but Sessions is most likely to score inside 15ft while Flynn scores from all ranges.

Ryan Gomes is 6-7 245 and can play PF, but starts at the small forward.   He averages 11pts/4.5rebs and shoot 43% from the field and 35% from three. He likes to shoot the long 2 and 3, but can finish at the rim with his size and strength.

Corey Brewer is 6-9 190 and starts at SG averaging 13pts/3.7rebs with 1.4 steals per game. Corey is backed up by rookie Wayne Ellington, who is one of their best pure shooters.

While Minnesota is a slightly better rebounding team than the Kings, they also have the highest turnover average and lowest number of blocks per game which could mean a very good day for Tyreke at the rim. The Kings have had some tough losses this month against teams with some outstanding guards; Westbrook with OKC, Kidd with DAL and Roy with POR. And while Flynn has a bright future ahead of him, he poses nowhere near the challenge that the stars we just played did.

As with all TimberWolves games, this one will be all about Jefferson and Love. Who will the Kings play against them and how well will they do? Let’s hope it ends up like our last home game against the Wolves with a 20-point win, and not like our last road game against them which ended with a 16-point loss.

THE KEY BATTLE

Carl Landry vs. Al Jefferson. Jefferson is renowned for his interior scoring, but he actually takes a ton of short to midrange jumpers (and as such isn't nearly as efficient as you'd expect your post scorer to be). Landry is almost exclusively scoring at the rim and on those long two-point jumpers, and gets to the line well. But Jefferson's the better rebounder, and he's a bit younger (hence the fat contract). If Landry can occupy Jefferson, the rest of the superior Kings roster should decide the game.

BOLD PROCLAMATION

Georgia Tech over Duke.

DETAILS

6 PM PT. Two gamers (6, 7:15) and a post-gamer (8:45).