Greetings from Houston.
Youngblood here. I had the distinct privilege to cover tonight's game. It was something to watch.
You probably already know the numbers. That the victory, the Wolves' fifth on the road, matches their road win totals from each of the past two seasons. That the Wolves' 42 third-quarter points was the most in the third quarter in franchise history. That Michael Beasley's 34 points off the bench matched the franchise record for a Wolves reserve.
The way the Wolves performed in that quarter was really something. Beasley has had some big games for this team before. But I can't remember him being more efficient. Nothing he did tonight seemed forced. And, with a smaller man covering him, he attacked when he needed to, making a personal-best 12 free throws.
Here are some other thoughts post-game:
1. The clamor will now be for Beasley to be inserted into the starting lineup, especially with Wes Johnson struggling and the Wolves -- with the exception of tonight -- starting games slowly. I guess that should eventually happen, but he sure looks good leading the second unit. And, talking with him after the game, he insisted he is OK with a sixth-man role if it helps the team win. We'll see.
2. We should start a contest to guess when Rubio will get his first triple-double. It's going to happen. He came two rebounds short tonight.
3. The Wolves did a good job of using some zone defense to slow the Rockets' smaller lineup. Here's how Adelman described it: "Last time they used the pick and roll with one big guy and shooters all over the place," he said. "One thing they do really well is, when they drive and kick, the next guy can take it to the hole really well. And they have shooters. We were kind of ready for that. That's why we went zone. It took them out of the pick and roll."
