Ricky Rubio Injury Update: Begins Light Practice with TWolves

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Ricky Rubio’s fans are excited about the Spanish sensation’s return to court. Thus, here is some good news for fans who are awaiting that return. Ricky has already rejoined his team for practice, albeit for a limited time only. This is a good sign and right on target with the projected return to play, which was  December.

In case Rubio does manage to return by December, this will be beneficial for his team given that the Minnesota Timberwolves had been ravaged by injury as of this season. Rubio had been out of the court since March after he tore his ACL on the left knee . He had already undergone surgery and extensive therapy as part of his rehabilitation process and his light practice on the court is the biggest progress he has had so far since getting injured.

While Rubio was out, all-star Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves also had to sit out several games due to injury (broken right hand). The two, however, had joined their team’s practice despite during the instructional portions only.  They have also partaken in a few drills, too.

More good things await the TWolves with Rubio’s impending return as Kevin Love has finally suited up to play. Despite returning to a losing effort, fans of the TWolves can only expect for the better as they will eventually be in top shape soon. During his return,

With only a few weeks left to wait, fans should be excited at the prospect of Rubio returning to play. And with Brandon Roy out, it would be absolutely necessary.

Kevin Love Injury Update

With Pekovic obtaining a sprained ankle and Chase Budinger undergoing surgery, the Minnesota Timberwolves are clearly facing a ton of injuries that has somewhat incapacitated their lineup. With so many injuries, one cannot help but question for how long the team is going to take it. This only fuels fans' excitement about the return of the team's biggest superstars from the injury list, namely Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love.

In an earlier post, I've discussed about the possibility of Rubio returning by December but he is quick to point out that he won't rush the return. In the case of Kevin Love, he had already submitted an X-ray of his right hand to a New York hand specialist for it to be properly examined. A couple of bones were reportedly broken in Love's hand while he was performing knuckle push-ups.

The hand specialist will evaluate the progress of Love's injury recovery based upon what is seen in the X-ray. The same doctor already examined Love last October and said that he won't be needing a surgery. Hence, the Wolves' power forward is positive about his recovery and is looking at his return to the court. Love says, "Hopefully, the next step is strengthening, flexibility and gradually get into dribbling."

When asked about when he might get to see action again, he cited "early December". Another good sign? Love has removed the protective cast on his hand, which means that he is one step closer to getting back in condition for the game. However, his doctor has advised him from doing any contact drills as of yet, especially ones that requires the use of his hand.

The Deal on the Cortez-Taha Trade

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Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings suffered a devastating 5-game losing skid before they had bounced back with a couple of wins in a row. During those 5 games that they had lost, it opened up one key area that they are lacking in - the frontline. With many of its big players getting sidelined due to injury, it was clear that the Gin Kings needed to acquire new players to boost their frontline or trade up one of their guards so they can make that acquisition.

Last Friday, the deal involving the Ginebra Gin Kings was approved by the PBA Board, which involves point guard Mike Cortez. With LA Tenorio's addition into the Ginebra lineup, Cortez got very few minutes of playing time. Head coach Siot Tanquincen is therefore taking the gamble to give up his talented and veteran point guard in exchange for a young big man, which many are considering as the team's project center - Yousef Taha. This is a step in the right direction for the Ginebra team, which was seen struggling during the early goings of the PBA Philippine Cup.

In an interview with head coact Siot Tanquincen following the confirmation of the trade deal, he had but nice words to say about the veteran point guard. "I have high respect for Mike," says coach Siot. "He's a talented player, but just like what he said in the interviews, he needs to play."

Cortez showed great game during his debut with the Air 21 Express, wherein he scored 24 points, grabbed six rebounds, and made six assists during 24 minutes of game time. Oddly enough, the rookie Taha that Ginebra acquired in exchange for Cortez did not step onto the court during their game versus Global Port, wherein the Gin Kings were victorious. But the crowd favorite got some help from Jay Jay Helterbrand who stepped up following Mike's absence in the bench.

Coach Siot applauded Helterbrand for his efforts during that night, noting "Jayjay [performed] better and he showed that [in the game versus GlobalPort".

TWolves Overcome Injury Woes to Deal Mavs Their Third Consecutive Loss

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With both their main players power forward Kevin Love and Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio out due to their respective injuries, the TWolves relied on head coach Rick Adelman’s leadership off-court and their deep bench to get early season wins until their top dogs return to the court sometime in December. But despite of a growing injury list and a rather patched lineup, the Twolves managed to do the difficult task.

The short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the home team Dallas Mavericks on Monday wherein the final score stood at 90-82. Nikola Pekovic is the leading scorer for the TWolves after he put in 20 points, despite being pulled out late in the third quarter due to a sprained ankle. Pekovic did not return to the court, which means another man down to the Wolves team that has already been suffering from one injury to another.

Only ten players suited up for the TWolves, including the injured Pekovic. But even with a depleted lineup, Minnesota’s defense has been consistent all season long, which helped them to fend off the Mavs’ rally. The team’s defense has been so brilliant that they are among the top 5 defensive teams in the NBA so far.

As proof of the Wolves’ great defense, the Dallas Mavericks shot the lowest field goal percentage this season at a lowly 36.3 percent. Since the first 3 minutes of the game, the Mavs had been trailing the Wolves until the latter eventually went away with the win on the road.

Image: sports.yahoo.com

According to Andrei Kirilenko, forward for the Minnesota Timberwolves, this can be attributed to the team’s “character”. He said, “nobody really looks down and nobody feels sorry. Everybody just keeps coming out and trying to give their best.”

Chase Budinger is scheduled to undergo operation on his torn lateral meniscus, which he injured last Saturday after filling for an injured Brandon Roy. Speaking of Roy, the game against Dallas was the second game he missed due to a sore right knee. With Barea also missing the third game this season due to a left foot sprain, Pekovic’ recent injury further adds more chaos to the lineup that is already hampered with one injury after another.

But coach Adelman is not worried about the team’s campaign this season, noting that “hopefully [they] can get some guys back and maintain the same energy level [they] had [in this game].”

Aside from Nikola Pekovic, other players also stepped up for the TWolves. Luke Ridnour put in 15 points and added 8 assists to help his team’s cause. Meanwhile, reserve Dante Cunningham added 14 points in this game. This is only the fourth win for the TWolves in the last 23 meetings with the Mavs.

Mike Brown Fired From Lakers: Deciphering Lakers Misfortunes

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Last Thursday, the basketball world was in for a shock when it was officially announced that Mike Brown had been fired as head coach for the embattled Los Angeles Lakers. During the pre-season, there had been lots of talks about how strong the Lakers line-up is on paper because they have acquired All-Stars Steve Nash and Dwight Howard. But with a few games into the season, they have managed to win only a single game and the prospects of the Lakers team are not looking good.

This was a tough call given that the Lakers team has expressed the desire to become a contender for the NBA championship title. The agent for Mike Brown, Warren Legarie, confirmed the news that the Lakers head coach had been fired from his post following a bad start. This wasn’t just during the early start of the season, because the Lakers were also 0-8 during the pre-season games.

It must have caused panic amongst the Lakers management, which opted to release him from the contract despite the fact that there is still around $11 million remaining on his contract that was signed in summer of last year.

The Lakers management had been in the middle of controversy following the news of the head coach being axed from his job. It also speaks a lot about the sense of agitation within the team, wherein his patient play does not seem to mesh well with the management's desire to get another ring. Apparently, the management wants to win now whereas Mike Brown is keen on developing this team until it becomes ready to become a contender again. The deals made off-season is a signal to that because they’ve acquired quite a few superstars in order to get the proper form.

Also, a few days ago, a video of Kobe Bryant giving a supposed death stare (which many speculated was towards head coach Mike Brown) while being seated to the bench after another loss became viral. It was only one of a series of misfortunes that hit this team; thus, it adds more pressure to the entire coaching staff to help them come out and be the powerhouse they were being pegged to be during the off-season.

The team's management explained the reasoning behind their decision to fire Mike Brown from his post, saying, "After five games we weren't seeing improvement and we made a decision. Maybe it would have changed … with this team, we didn't want to wait five months and find out it wasn't going to change."

With Brown leaving his post as head coach, it only brings more questions than answers. Who will replace his job as a head coach? Will they be able to do a much better job and turn things around for this team? But the Lakers don’t have the luxury of time. They need to find an antidote to this problem and can only hope that the move to fire Brown was worth it and could bring them to where they want to be.

Ricky Rubio Injury Update, T-Wolves Plagued with Injury Woes

Image: USA Today

In a March game against Los Angeles Lakers, sensational Spanish rookie Ricky Rubio collided with LA guard Kobe Bryant and injured his knee in the process. Since then, he has had surgery on his knee for a torn ACL but since then Rubio hasn’t suited up to play for the Timberwolves just yet. With the start of the 2012-2013 NBA season, his fans and that of the T-Wolves are looking forward to his return and there has been some positive news about his impending return into the lineup.

According to the Twolves guard, he does not want to rush his return and wants to make sure his knees are fully recovered before he goes back to play. Rubio recently talked to reporters at Target Center, who are eager to know how far along into his injury recovery he might be in.

According to Rubio, it might be “December, but it could be January”. The Spanish baller further adds, “I don’t want to say a time because I don’t want to rush it. I want to be ready when I am ready.”

It is clear that Rubio is taking his time to ensure that his knee is fully recovered instead of being pressured into coming back into the game. But he’s got good news for fans, though, wherein he said that “[now] I start running and I feel good. In three, four weeks, I’m gonna start agility…”

Rubio’s return is much anticipated, along with his teammate Kevin Love. The US national player and power forward for the Timberwolves broke his right hand during practice. Like Rubio, reports claim that Love should be able to make his return on December. Expert insiders, though, reiterate that these injuries should not greatly affect the team with its restructured roster during the off-season wherein they acquired Andre Kirilenko and Brandon Roy.

James Harden Trade; Impact on both teams!

The trade looks fair on both teams. The Rockets got their star player and the Thunders are loaded for future while getting out of the financial mess. OKC have no choice but to trade Harden rather than just watch him walk away from the team. Harden isn't that loyal to just accept lower offer and which will only limit his potential behind Durant and Westbrook as a 6th man so he look forward in the future for any opportunities for his career and sacrifice his chance to win the title.

Chemistry
    Since Houston is a rebuilding team and while the season is yet to start on aquiring Harden, it is the perfect time for all the players to grow together and build a new chemistry on the team. Now Harden will play the role of go to guy and Houston will soon have its own identity.

    Still this is a big question mark on OKC on losing one of it's core. If you could remember, the year James arrive on the team was the year they have their first taste of the playoffs and a year ago without Harden, the team was struggling while having Westbrook and Durant on the line up. It doesn't mean that without Harden the team will be out from being contender but somehow of definitely it will affect the team regarding chemistry.

Needs of a team
    The trade obviously filled the needs of the Rockets, making up for what they fail to fulfill this off season; to land a legitimate star player. Fail on Howard or Gasol.

    OKC have no choice since plan A fails; When Harden turned down the best offer they can give him. Obviously, they need Harden to get back to the finals but the management thinks about not only on this season but also for future of the team. They also got a decent scorers on return plus two 1st round picks.

Production
    Harden provides it all: Scoring, create his own shot, 3 point shooter, drive to the basket and most important is being a clutch player.

    in OKC's 28, 23, 17; That 17 points from the bench should be filled. Kevin Martin could definitely provide that as scoring is what Martin do best. The question is: Does Martin provide that the way Harden did? Harden have more ways to score than Martin.

Future
    Harden is the future for the Rockets along with almost all young guys on the roster. They lost 2 valuable 1st round picks but they surely got a sure win on Harden. Plus they don't need a future picks anymore since they just pick 3 players on the first round of one of the deepest draft class.

    OKC still got youth, infact they also recently drafted Perry Jones, a very talented player who slips to their hands after teams ahead of them passed on him. Without the red flag, Jones should have been a lottery pick in a very deep draft class and he has the potential to be a star. JOnes is expected to step up and bare some responsibility in production.

Written by: Fritz Castro