Well, hey, it was probably too much to ask for the youngster to keep it up. Two days after making himself a part of NBA history with 31 points and 31 rebounds, Kevin Love came crashing back to Earth for the Minnesota Timberwolves, only scoring 22 points and 17 rebounds in a 111-105 loss to the Hawks Saturday.
Love accounted for 44% of the Wolves’ total rebounds, and played 40 minutes. So it’s possible that the tyranny of Kurt Rambis towards the youngster is over. Love’s not a good defender, he really isn’t, but his production simply demands that he get floor time. Michael Beasley added 25 points on 10 of 16 shooting. In fact, there was really only one weak point on the team’s starters: Darko Milicic.
And boy was he bad. 2 points on 1-7 shooting, with 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 blocks with 2 turnovers in 20 minutes, and it was every bit as underwhelming as it sounds. Al Horford, most often matched up with Milicic, went off again for the Hawks with 28 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. Darko is supposed to be the defensive stalwart on this team, and he was the only starter with a negative +/- worse than -1 (Wes Johnson was just under the line).
Love, though, continues to simply battle for every loose ball, today matched with Josh Smith (who only had 10 rebounds, pssh). Sure, sometimes he yanks one from a teammate, but at this rate, Love’s on track not just to earn his minutes, but to earn minutes as an All-Star.
Beastin’.