It is a shame that Minnesota was blown out by Portland (110-91), but it is a damn shame Big Al turned the night into a second loss. In case you haven’t heard Big Al was arrested for a DWI last night. Most of the details have not been released yet but here is what we do know:
Minnesota Timberwolves basketball player Al Jefferson was arrested and booked into jail early this morning for allegedly driving drunk, according to jail records.
Jefferson was arrested by the State Patrol at 1:08 a.m., and was brought to the Hennepin County Jail shorty after 2 a.m., [...]

Name: Patrick Patterson
Ht: 6’8” Wt: 235
POS: PF Class: Jr.
College: Kentucky
Overview: Patrick Patterson is an undersized PF who is very skilled and might have the best leadership skills of any player in the draft. He is a very good athlete for a PF. His feet are a bit heavy but he still very quick. I love how active Patterson is. Even when the ball is not in his hands he crashes the boards hard, sets screens, and helps out on D. He is constantly trying to get the ball thrown into him. Patrick not only makes his self better but makes [...]

Statistical Breakdown:
Time: Tonight 7 p.m. CST
Place: Target Center
POR record: 34-27
MIN record: 14-46
POR road record: 15-14
MIN home record: 9-20
POR record v. Western Conf: 21-14
MIN record v. Western conf: 7-28
POR PPG: 97.6 (T-22nd)
MIN PPG: 97.6 (T-22nd)
POR opponents PPG: 95.3 (T-4th)
MIN opponents PPG: 106.1 (28th)
POR RPG Diff: +1.6 (10th)
MIN RPG Diff: +0.1 (17th)
POR AST/TO: 20.3/12.8 (T-8th)
MIN AST/TO: 19.7/16.1 (29th)
POR FG%: 46.3% (11th)
MIN FG%: 44.7% (25th)
POR opponents FG%: 46.4% (20th)
MIN opponents FG%: 47.5% (26th)
POR 3PT%: 35.2% (12th)
MIN 3PT%: 33.8% (25th)
POR FT%: 78.6% (4th)
MIN FT%: 73.9% (23rd)
Last meeting:
My prediction: POR 112-101

Kevin Love had another great performance off the bench. Unfortunately for him, he did not get a double-double so he is dead to me. Al Jefferson continues to struggle. I think Kurt Rambis really needs to think about moving Big Al to the bench and limiting his minutes. He is clearly struggling and it is likely from knee pain or fatigue, so what is the benefit of continuing to trudge him out there as a starter for 25+ minutes? With Love, Darko, and Hollins you can easily restrict Jefferson to roughly 20 minutes a game.
Moving on; as a team [...]

Statistical Breakdown:
Time: Tonight 7 p.m. CST
Place: Ford Center
OKC record: 33-23
MIN record: 14-45
OKC home record: 16-11
MIN road record: 5-25
OKC record v. Western Conf: 16-17 (in div 6-2)
MIN record v. Western conf: 7-27 (in div 3-8)
OKC PPG: 99.0 (18th)
MIN PPG: 97.7 (T-22nd)
OKC opponents PPG: 96.0 (7th)
MIN opponents PPG: 106.1 (28th)
OKC RPG: 43.6 (3rd)
MIN RPG: 43.4 (5th)
OKC RPG Diff: +2.2 (T-5th)
MIN RPG Diff: +0.2 (17th)
OKC AST/TO: 19.5/15.2 (T-26th)
MIN AST/TO: 19.6/16.1 (29th)
OKC FG%: 45.5% (19th)
MIN FG%: 44.8% (23rd)
OKC opponents FG%: 43.8% (3rd)
MIN opponents FG%: 47.3% (26th)
OKC 3PT%: 34.1% (T-21st)
MIN 3PT%: 34.1% (T-21st)
OKC FT%: 79.4% (2nd)
MIN FT%: 73.7% (24th)
Last meeting: OKC 109-107
My prediction: [...]

Name: Damion James
Ht: 6′7″ Wt: 225
Pos: SF/PF Class: Sr
College: Texas
Overview: Damion James is an undersized four and below average athletic three. He is a tweener who will struggle to defend anyone in the NBA. Damion works hard on defense but his feet are to slow to defend at a high level in the NBA. His biggest strength is his shot and as we all know shooting 9 times out of 10 translates to the NBA. As of right now he is a set shooter so he needs to work on creating his own shot. He is not much a threat [...]

The Wolves played admirably last night. They were led by yet another double double from the Beach Boy. Ryan Hollins scored 18 but still can’t rebound. Jonny Flynn had a nice assist to turnover ratio. The team as a whole played fairly well. Big Al did not do much (10 pts, 4 reb). Where I think the Wolves lost the game though is in the rotation. Between Ramon Sessions, Darko, Wayne Ellington, and Sasha Pavlovic they had a combined 70 minutes and 0 points. 0 points in 70 minutes! I say again, 0 points in 70 minutes! Are you kidding [...]

The good: Well the Wolves won and that is always a good thing. Both Kevin Love and Big Al produced double doubles. Wayne Ellington had himself a nice game off the bench (12 pts, 4 reb). Ellington has impressed me more and more lately. Ryan Gomes bounced back from his 0-9 effort in the last game to drop 13 points off 6 of 8 shooting on the Heat. The Wolves held Michael Beasley to 14 points. Darko was gasping for air the entire time but still played through it, and contributed a lot defensively. Jonny Flynn really looked for [...]

I might be the only Timberwolves fan who still likes Laettner but I am happy for the guy. Along with Tex Winter, Jerry West, and David Thompson, Christian Laettner is among the latest College Basketball Hall of Fame inductees.
Hall of Fame Class

Statistical Breakdown:
Time: Tonight 6:30 p.m. CST
Place: American Airlines Arena
MIA record: 29-28
MIN record: 13-44
MIA home record: 14-12
MIN road record: 4-24
MIA record v. Western Conf: 11-13
MIN record v. Eastern conf: 6-18
MIA PPG: 96.5 (26th)
MIN PPG: 97.9 (21st)
MIA opponents PPG: 95.1 (T-4th)
MIN opponents PPG: 106.5 (29th)
MIA RPG: 41.6 (17th)
MIN RPG: 43.4 (4th)
MIA RPG Diff: +0.9 (11th)
MIN RPG Diff: +0.1 (T-16th)
MIA AST/TO: 19.0/13.1 (16th)
MIN AST/TO: 19.7/16.0 (29th)
MIA FG%: 45.6% (16th)
MIN FG%: 44.8% (23rd)
MIA opponents FG%: 44.2% (7th)
MIN opponents FG%: 47.6% (26th)
MIA 3PT%: 34.6% (16th)
MIN 3PT%: 33.6% (26th)
MIA FT%: 74.9% (18th)
MIN FT%: 73.7% (24th)
Last meeting: 1st meeting of season
My prediction: MIA 104-103