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Michael Rand started RandBall with hopes that he could keep lies from conquering the minds of the weak. So far, he's only succeeded in using the word "redacted" a lot. He welcomes suggestions, news tips, links of pure genius, and pictures of pets in Halloween costumes here, though he already knows he will regret that last part.
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Friday (The Wolves need Kevin Love) edition: Wha' Happened?
Posted by: Michael Rand under Wolves news Updated: January 4, 2013 - 9:16 AM
Without Love on the court, the defense (at least in transition) looked better. J.J. Barea took over the offense and various players started making all kinds of shots they weren't making before. There was a renewed energy, and the result was an important 101-97 that kept the Wolves (15-14) from dipping under .500.
The fashionable question last night on Twitter was this: Did the Wolves win in spite of missing Kevin Love (and Ricky Rubio) or BECAUSE Love left the game?
It's a complicated question, but here's how we see it:
For 16 minutes and 15 seconds, the Wolves were a better team without Love on the floor. It was apparent. His missed shots and constant referee battles have become a team-wide energy drain at times, at least when viewed from afar. The Wolves naturally thrive on ball movement; when Love is in the game, there is a (correct) tendency to get him the ball more than others. When he is not making shots, everyone suffers. When he went out, the "best shot possible" theory came back into the mix, with guys like Alexey Shved, Luke Ridnour, Daunte Cunningham and Barea stepping up.
For the future, however, it is ridiculous to say the Wolves are better off without Love. They absolutely need him -- but they absolutely need him to get his head, lungs, hand and whatever else is ailing him back into 2011-12 form. This version of Love is slumping. We're not sure if it's more mental or physical, but he is shooting 35.2 percent from the field, including 21.7 percent on threes. His rebounding numbers are still there. His defense has been atrocious at times, and his slow lopes back to the defensive end -- often after arguing a call or at least being upset -- need to stop. But please don't forget that he averaged 26 points and 13 rebounds last season. If he wants to be here -- and he had better want to be here because it's his only choice for multiple years still -- he is an essential piece toward building a very dangerous team.
All the 2012-13 Wolves need is the 2011-12 Love -- even if Love isn't all they need (hey, how about a real two-guard and a little bit of health fortune?)
TFD: RandBall Q&A excerpt with Dr. James Andrews, who operated on Adrian Peterson
Posted by: Michael Rand under Vikings Updated: January 3, 2013 - 5:23 PM
Dr. James Andrews. Photo/Mike Oliver
Q Adrian Peterson. It was barely a year ago – Dec. 30, 2011 – that you performed his knee surgery. First off, did you find a man’s body underneath the flesh, or is he a cyborg as we all suspect?
A He’s been a miracle. He’s a genetic individual who has been blessed to do what he’s done. I answer that question, and I try to throw the recovery back to the athlete. If you operate on the right athlete, they make you look pretty good as a physician. The three people who really got him there were Eric Sugarman, his trainer with the Vikings. Russ Paine, one of the best physical therapists in the country, and then Adrian Peterson. He’s the guy motivated to do all that. The rehab is boring and tiring. He pushed himself and motivated himself and was determined to be better than ever. The surgery was only a small part of it.
Q But seriously, from a medical standpoint, how do you explain what he has been able to do this season so soon after that injury and surgery?
A His recovery and success has been a major miracle. My definition of a miracle is something that happens that you don’t expect to happen. Thank God for it.
Want to watch the best 10 NBA bloopers from 2012? Sure you do
Posted by: Michael Rand under Basketball Updated: January 3, 2013 - 2:58 PMSometimes bloopers don't really capture the spirit of the thing. Well, the top 10 NBA bloopers of 2012 are legit. Have a look-see:
The Packers' Increasingly Lost Season, Volume 12: Failing to heed lessons of the past
Posted by: Michael Rand under Professional football, Vikings Updated: January 3, 2013 - 11:43 AM
Stu?
-------
As noted in this space last week, a Packers victory was very unlikely at the Metrodome last Sunday. True to form, this overhyped bunch of insurance pitchmen was unable to stop Adrian Peterson, keep Christian Ponder from beating them, or fully exploit a Vikings secondary missing Antoine Winfield for the balance of the game. That injury no doubt helped wee Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers keep the score close, but in an increasingly lost season, are moral victories enough?
The answer to that question, as the playoffs now begin, is a self-evident “no.” With the (admittedly small) chance to snipe a bye week from the much better San Francisco 49ers, the Packers tried their level best. And it just wasn’t good enough. Now, the spectre of another cold-weather game in the House of Daunte looms on Saturday night.
Which leads me to my key to a Packers upset this weekend: change of venue.
It sounds nuts, and the logistics are no doubt nightmarish, but the numbers don’t lie: the Vikings don’t lose playoff games in Green Bay, and the Packers just can’t win in Lambeau with Aaron Rodgers on his tippy-toes at quarterback. In Minnesota’s own recent lost season, they played home games in a college stadium and at Ford Field, and a road game on a Tuesday in Philadelphia. The stakes for those games were much lower than an elimination game, so shouldn’t the team and its stockholders move heaven and earth to play somewhere, anywhere but a place where failure is, perhaps, the only option?
For many years, Green Bay split their home games between Lambeau Field and tradition-rich Milwaukee County Stadium. The latter has been replaced by Miller Park, America’s premier terrarium. The chance to play a game indoors, in Wisconsin, should be a done deal. Taking the elements away can only help the Flutie-style heroics of Rodgers and the unreliable leg of Mason Crosby. Frankly, that this hasn’t already been arranged is a baffling failure of imagination on the part of what is supposedly one of the NFL’s model franchises. It may turn out that Ted Thompson’s refusal to see what Graham Harrell can do won’t be his most glaring mistake this season.
Let’s assume that Green Bay unwisely chooses the path of least resistance and plays Saturday night’s game at Lambeau Field. It’s still preferable to the Metrodome, where the Pack would no doubt get steamrolled by a red-hot Vikings team that took their best shot. Can Green Bay and Lil’ Aaron, for one week at least, cast off the chains of their many past failures and win a home playoff game before getting flattened by San Francisco? In an increasingly lost season, don’t count on it.
Thursday (What is wrong with the Wolves?) edition: Wha' Happened?
Posted by: Michael Rand under Wolves news Updated: January 3, 2013 - 10:08 AM
We only watched the second half of the Wolves/Jazz game last night, but that was enough in a couple of regards: enough bad basketball by the local club and enough to see that the Wolves are in a serious funk right now. After seemingly turning a bit of a corner, they have lost 5 of their last 7 and are back at .500 with a 14-14 record. So what's wrong? Well ...
*Energy: Despite not having played since Saturday, the Wolves were FLAT from what we could see. They've looked plenty flat in other games as well, but not like what we saw last night. Maybe that was the product of missing so many shots, which can be deflating. But it was startling.
*Injuries catching up: Ricky Rubio provided an emotional lift when he returned, but he's been slowed again now and hasn't been the player he was last year even when on the court. Kevin Love still doesn't look right. Brandon Roy and Chase Budinger have missed significant time.
*Love: Speaking of Kevin, it would be too convenient to blame his Yahoo flap for the recent funk. After all, the Wolves won their first three games after that story came out. More likely, it's his uneven play (to put it nicely) on the court of late. In the Wolves' last four losses, Love has missed one of them and shot a combined 9 for 38 from the field in the other three. His body language often looks bad. He needs to get fully healthy and re-focused.
*Alexey Shved is cooling off. Shved was a combined 21-for-45 from 3-point range during a 7-2 Wolves stretch between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15. That's a 46.7 percent clip and it opened up a lot of things. Since then, he is 12 for 41 (29.6 percent), coinciding with this 2-5 slide.
*Better competition: The early schedule was softer; now they're playing better teams, and if the Wolves are not at full strength they are exposed.
*Defensive lapses. The Wolves have held opponents under 90 points 10 times this season (going 7-3 in those games). Nine of those games came Dec. 7 or earlier. They have allowed at least 100 points 13 times this season (going 4-9 in those games). More than half of those games (eight) have come in the last month.
Any other reasons? We left some out for you to chew on in the comments.
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recent posts
- Friday (The Wolves need Kevin Love) edition: Wha' Happened?
- TFD: RandBall Q&A excerpt with Dr. James Andrews, who operated on Adrian Peterson
- Want to watch the best 10 NBA bloopers from 2012? Sure you do
- The Packers' Increasingly Lost Season, Volume 12: Failing to heed lessons of the past
- RandBall: Tell us what's wrong with the Wolves
- RandBall: Vegas got pounded in 2012 NFL season because all the favorites won
- Because you asked: Here is the Randy Moss fake moon TD video
- RandBall: Latrell Sprewell feeds family with loud music, gets arrested
- Wednesday (First Vikings playoff roster vs. Packers revisited) edition: Wha' Happened?
- TFD: Could 2013 actually be a good sports year in Minnesota?
- It's safe to say Adrian Peterson got the "nasty" yards on Sunday ... and all season long
- Mid-day talker: What's your take on the evolving Royce White situation?
- Monday (That doesn't happen with the Vikings) edition: Wha' Happened?
- TFD: Denard Span .gif makes Deadspin's top 25 of the year
- Vegas gives Adrian Peterson an 18 percent chance of breaking Eric Dickerson's record
- RandBall: Exactly how did the Vikings get here?
- Friday (MarQueis Gray vs. Philip Nelson) edition: Wha' Happened?
- TFD: An amusing look back at the preseason over-under bets for NFL teams
- Check out the Twins' new batting practice caps
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