Last season, long-suffering fans were treated to the familiar signs of Spring: the air slowly being pounded out of the ball, listless defense, and the launching of long, contested twos.

As end-of-the-bench flotsam was forced to fill in for injured regulars and the still standing jetsam exposed itself for all of the world — and the Wolves’ Front Office — to undeniably see, the fans groaned their resigned recognition: Spring had sprung.

Signs of Spring in Minnesota

There were fond memories, though…

Kevin Love emerged as an undeniable #1 option, hitting step back 3s and getting to the line at an incredible rate while retaining his status as an all-world rebounder.

Ricky Rubio proved more than a mythical, youtube prodigy from a foreign land, delivering on so many highlight reel promises and providing surprisingly stout perimeter defense — of a quality never before displayed by a Wolves point guard.

Nikola Pekovic bailed out more than a few lost possessions with a quick look to him in the post. You didn’t have to suffer seasons of Darko Milicic’s lazy hook shots to appreciate Pek’s ascension as an unmovable force down low.

These three lineup stalwarts shone bright enough early in the season to not only help the Wolves contend for the playoffs, but hide the dark matter that was left exposed by their early exits.

Even before Rubio’s knee exploded, Pek’s bone spurs hobbled him, and Love was knocked out of the season, Luke Ridnour was forced into yeoman’s work at shooting guard just to give coach Rick Adelman a second ball handler to initiate his Cliff’s Notes, lockout-edition offense.

At season’s end, Adelman demanded known quantities — as if his arrival didn’t signal the end of the ‘talent development’ portion of the David Kahn era.

The binge and purge that followed:

Before the draft, the Wolves traded away their first rounder for Adelman-favorite, Chase Budinger. They let space cadet Anthony Randolph and long-two chucker extraordinaire Michael Beasley walk in free agency. Underachieving good-guy Wayne Ellington was traded to Memphis for defensive spark-plug Dante Cunningham. Perennial punchline Darko Milicic was amnestied and Martell Webster was waived to make room for Nicolas Batum’s offer sheet. After Portland matched, Wesley Johnson was traded to Phoenix to make room for free agent Andrei Kirilenko. Alexei Shved soon followed from Russia with all the youth and promise of a lottery pick. Greg Stiemsma made the Boston switch with Darko complete. Lou Amundson filled out the front line. Leaving Derrick Williams as the lone potential-laden hangover remaining from last season.

That whirlwind of upgrades from embarrassing cluelessness to respectable competence would have been much-appreciated by the long-suffering Wolves’ faithful had it ended at Budinger’s acquisition. The banishment of so many useless parts at once was nothing but a shock for anyone paying attention. Youth and its questionable potential have been traded for age and its questionable durability.

The newest additions need only hold the fort until reinforcements arrive, and be competent, functional pieces after that to qualify as one of the best teams in Wolves history. It promises to be an entertaining ride.

Kevin Love poses after his game-winner (Yahoo!)

I’m sure you’ve heard that Kevin Love stole the show on Friday night with his dramatic 28 ft 3-pointer as time expired to win the game against the Clippers.   Love is putting up statistics that have not been seen in the NBA in several decades, but now that he’s hitting game-winning shots it’s time to give him the superstar status that he deserves.   Along with his ”superstar-in-the-making” sidekick Ricky Rubio, the Timberwolves completed an unprobably comeback that has rarely been seen by this franchise.  Or at least not seen in the last 8 years.  Ricky overcame an atrocious start (starting 0-10 from the field) to hit the game-tying 3-pointer, and finish with a solid stat line of 9 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals.  

Let’s get right down to the nitty-gritty and discuss the most important things to take away from Friday’s nights exhilerating victory:

• ESPN sideline reporter Ric Bucher’s hair is shiny and golden like this planet has never seen since Dennis The Menace!
• It was getting DARKO! in Los Angeles!   Darko had a career game with 22 points and 7 rebounds.  He even played some solid “d” on Blake Griffin at times.   Thank you for the one game output Darko, now will you please think about waking up from your nap the rest of the season?   Good job Darko, I’m happy for you. 
• Wayne Ellington is proving he might be reliable as a shooter off the bench.  He’s had several games this year where he’s been very solid.  I don’t see him as a full-time player by any means, but he has value as a contributer off the bench.
• Derrick Williams.  He still can’t seem to find his rhythm in the NBA, but still shows his potential here and there.  Friday night he struggle throughout, but put together a nice 4th quarter and was on the floor for most of the comeback.   
• The Battle of the Cro-Magnon Man:   Blake Griffin vs ”Pek”.  Notice any similarities?   The two belong in a Flintstones cartoon.   Compliments to Blake’s bicepes, and Pek’s neck.
• Timberwolves resiliency.   Last year they would have crumbled being down to such a good team so late in the game.  But the team has new leadership and it’s a new era.   Thank you for your time, Kurt Rambis.

The Timberwolves will try to build on their great victory as they face another tough opponent in the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.  No word yet on if Kevin Love and Al Jefferson will meet up for a pre-game footlong meatball sandwich at Subway.  We do know this:  Jeff Hornecek and Luke Ridnour will potentially be meeting to have a skim milk to discuss aloe skin gel, LA Looks hair gel, and how their jump shots remind them of a goose neck.  Hornecek will undoubtably being trying to convince Luke out of his facial hair.  (so not true!) Should be an exciting match-up!