February 2, 2013; Columbia, SC, USA; Georgia Bulldogs guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (1) attempts a three-point shot against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second half at Colonial-Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

With the NBA Draft just weeks away, Wiz of Awes will be doing a mock draft, which we’ll break down each pick for every lottery team, including the Washington Wizards. [Completed Mock Draft: 1) Cleveland, 2) Orlando, 3) Washington Wizards, 4) Charlotte, 5) Phoenix, 6) New Orleans 7) Sacramento 8) Detroit]

Ward Watkins:

9) Minnesota Timberwolves: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG, Georgia

Basic Stats: 18.5 PPG, 7.1 REB, 1.8 AST, 2.0 STL

In 2012-13, the Wolves finished 25th in offensive rating (102.9 points per 100 possessions) while playing at the 11th fastest pace in the league. I could be wrong, but looking at the roster, it seems as if the team’s two or three best shooters are frontcourt players. To put it bluntly, the T-Wolves need help scoring, particularly in the backcourt. Ricky Rubio, while improved, is by no means a consistent shooter. While Alexy Shved showed promise last season, the shooting guards position is pretty bare with Luke Ridnour  (I’m stretching here) and Brandon Roy, who has since been waived by Minnesota. Assuming Kevin Love comes back healthy and Nikola Pekovic – a restricted free agent – is re-signed to go along with Andrei Kirilenko and the puzzling Derrick Williams, the frontcourt appears to be in solid shape.

I know the old adage is to never pick for need, but the Wolves appear to be pretty close to putting together a playoff team. The first act in the new adventures of old Flip Saunders has to be to get somebody that can put the ball in the hoop. I’m taking a chance here and going with Georgia’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with the ninth pick.

The 2012-13 SEC Player of the Year may be a bit of a reach, but appears to be rising up draft boards in the last week or so. After a rough freshman season and a slow start to his sophomore season, KCP seemed played well for the Bulldogs, averaging 18.5 points per game and a strong seven boards per contest on a team that seemed to consistently have him on “pass it to Will” status. He improved in just about every category from his freshman season, including shooting 37.5 % from three last season and improving his free throw shooting from 65% as freshman to 80% as a sophomore despite shooting twice as many free throws. Measured at 6’6, KCP fits the “classic size for an NBA shooting guard” bill. His on-court athleticism seemed evident even though his combine measurements would say otherwise. A couple of things that stood out for me on the defensive side of the ball: his defensive rebounding percentage was 19.7% last season, and his defensive rating was 90.8. This tells me that he may be more than a one-trick pony at the next level.  I’ve seen it written that he has a good work ethic, so the thought here is that he will continue to improve his game.

Again, this pick may be a bit of a reach for the Wolves, but I see Caldwell-Pope as a bit of a sleeper in this draft, as at the very least he should help the team in the scoring department. If he can come in and be a solid complementary piece for Minnesota, they have the makings of a really nice nucleus.

Jan 25, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio (9) dribbles the ball as Washington Wizards point guard John Wall (2) defends in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 114-101. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Wizards came into tonight’s game vs. the Timberwolves presumably confident.  Although star rookie Bradley Beal suffered an ankle sprain in Sunday’s win over the 76ers, they still managed to hold on with some big plays down the stretch and were playing a team in this game that made Washington’s injury woes seem like the equivalent of a paper cut.  With Minnesota down Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic and Andrei Kirilenko (aka their entire starting front line and the reason that anyone in the city remembers they have a team), things were set up for a successful outing.  Unfortunately, no one gave the Wizards the memo that these are the types of games that ‘playoff’ teams take care of.  Turnovers galore marred the flow for all four quarters and even when it looked like the Wizards would take care of business, their lackadaisical play brought the Wolves right back into the action.  By the time Ariza threw up an insane fade away three with 15 seconds left in the game, the Wizards were checked out and already headed back to DC.  Hopefully they’ll cheer up when they find out the snowquester wasn’t as bad as anticipated.

Beal’s absence was noticeable, as the Wizards could not seem to find a rhythm offensively and struggled to knock down open looks (a strength of Bradley’s, I hear).  John Wall stepped up in a big way for three quarters, and carried the offense while also serving as a harassing presence on the defensive side of the ball.  But his six costly turnovers, as well as a substantially cooled jump shot proved critical in the game’s winding moments.  He needs to continue to improve his ball handling skills, as well as his decision making about when to drive, when to pull up, and when to look for the open man.  Wall should look no further than his counterpart tonight about how to affect a game in other ways when the jumper isn’t falling.  Ricky Rubio is adept at getting his teammates involved and putting pressure on the defense by attacking the basket and he put on his best Rajon Rondo impression by stuffing the stat sheet across the board.

A large reason for why Washington let the game slip away lies in an issue they’ve had all season.  The Wizards don’t know what they are offensively.  Are they a team that sets up Okafor and Nene on each low block and pounds teams into submission?  Or are they a team that thrives on the slash and kick game, led by Wall at the helm and with shooters in Beal, Webster, and Ariza (occasionally…) ready to make defenses pay?  This indecisiveness leads to a lot of confusion offensively because certain sets are designed for playing one style, and others indicate a schematic change.  This can lead to forced hook shots from Okafor or misguided isolation plays for Nene (I’m told he needs his space to properly commit offensive fouls).  I believe that with the addition of another perimeter player this summer; either through draft or free agency, and another year of maturity for Beal and Wall, we’ll gravitate towards the latter.  But as this year plays out and the roster is evaluated, we may find ourselves in similar predicaments of how we want to put the ball in the basket.

See below for a couple key points that stood out to me during tonight’s game:

• I loved the way John Wall played tonight on the defensive end.  I truly believe he has the athleticism to be one of the premiere defensive point guards in the league and he’s shown great instincts about going for blocks/steals in the past.  However, his activity has left a lot to be desired, as well as the general effort he showed on contesting shots, shuffling feet, etc.  Tonight he gave the impression that he was committed to making a difference and he did just that.  If this becomes a larger part of his game, he’ll have a greater impact on the game from a side of the court that many other top guards forget (See: Irving, Kyrie).

•  Trevor Ariza has really proved that he continues to be a commodity in this league.  After a very cold first half of the year, Ariza has been lights out since the all-star break and is showing why the Rockets wanted to make him their small forward of the future after his title run with the Lakers.  He totaled strong numbers tonight with 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists and attractions attention with the way he crashes the glass and fights for loose balls.

• I’ve written about this in the past, but I’m really struggling to accept that this offense can consistently run through Nene.  I believe he is a talented passer and can finish around the rim.  But the idea that he should have the ball down low while the rest of the team runs to the other side doesn’t sit well with me.  He’s shooting the worst percentage of his career this season and has had a lot of issues with turnovers (chipped in seven of those tonight).  And with Nene and Okafor both camped out down low, it is extremely difficult for Wall to attack the basket or find any room at all.

• Randy Wittman ran his starters into the ground all night, and by the time the 4^th quarter came around they had nothing left in the tank.  Although a total of 10 players saw game action, each of the starting 5 played between 33 and 42 minutes and the fatigue was quite evident.  It makes no sense to me why players like Booker, Singleton, or CARTIER MARTIN didn’t see more/any floor time but I think they could have provided a good spell for the main guys earlier in the game so fresh legs would be available when things got tight.

Jan 25, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio (9) dribbles the ball as Washington Wizards point guard John Wall (2) defends in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 114-101. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The struggling Minnesota Timberwolves have lost six consecutive games and will meet the surging Washington Wizards tonight at the Target Center.

Key Match Up

John Wall has struggled mightily since the All-Star break, but his streak may have come to an end last Sunday night against the Philadelphia 76ers. Wall, who shot just over 30 percent after the All-Star break, stepped up when the Wizards needed him most. With Bradley Beal out due to a sprained ankle, Wall scored six straight points which included a game sealing jump shot. After the win, Wall spoke about his improving confidence throughout the season. It’s evident that Wall’s confidence seems very fragile and moments such as one against the Sixers are a lot more meaningful for John Wall than it may be for other players. When Wall’s confidence is high, he’s virtually unstoppable. I’m pleased to see that Wall is a lot less passive in the past few games than he was a couple weeks ago. The last time the Wizards met the Wolves, John Wall took full advantage of his speed against Ricky Rubio. Rubio is considered an underrated defender throughout the NBA, but his lack of quickness and athleticism puts him at a severe disadvantage against Wall. It is important that Wall uses the tools he has to his advantage. Minnesota is plagued with injuries and don’t have many interior defenders, making Wall’s job a lot easier. With Bradley Beal out, Wall’s role in the scoring department will increase significantly.

After returning from an ACL injury this season, Ricky Rubio struggled to adjust right off the bat. His struggles were magnified in a loss against the Wizards earlier in the season in which Rubio shot just over 10 percent while scoring 4 points along side 6 assists. Since then, Rubio has continuously improved in every statistical category. Rubio’s shooting percentage is still not very good (35%), but his contributions in getting his teammates involved have steadily increased. With Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic and Andrei Kirilenko all out due to various injuries, Rubio is forced to play along side teammates which would normally be key reserve players. Despite not having much talent surrounding him, Rubio is averaging close to 9 assists per game this month. That’s just a testament to how great of a distributor Rubio truly is. I’ll be interested to see how well he keeps up with John Wall.

Other Notes/Links

• Bradley Beal will be out of tonight’s game and was limited to just shooting free throws in practice. I expect Garrett Temple to replace him in the starting lineup, although I’m hoping Randy Wittman decides to slide Martell Webster down to shooting guard. Webster has the second highest three point percentage in the NBA, so he’s more than capable of filling in for Beal’s shooting. With Webster at the guard position, Ariza could simply be placed at small forward.
• Beal’s injury seems rather insignificant when looking at Minnesota’s injury list. Kevin Love, Brandon Roy, Chase Budinger, Andrei Kirilenko and Nikola Pekovic are all out tonight. When healthy, the Timberwolves are almost certainly a playoff team.
• Despite being shorthanded, the Timberwolves are still a pretty good rebounding team. They’re ninth in rebounding and if you could recall, the Wizards struggled to crash defensive boards the last time the two teams met.
• Should Bradley Beal be the Rookie of the Year? I helped contribute to the WizardsXtra discussion piece, amongst plenty of other Wizards writers, on the topic.
• Washington will meet the Chicago Bulls in Brazil for a preseason game next season. I’m sure Nene is excited at the opportunity, but what about Leandro Barbosa?
• How can you not like Martell Webster and Garrett Temple? Here’s their rendition of the National Anthem. It’s full of awesomeness, to say the least.

Prediction

Washington has a tendency to play very well against high level opponents, but continuously struggle against teams which they’re supposed to beat. With Kevin Love out, the Timberwolves have dropped 23 of their last 28. Needless to say, Washington should have no problem beating the Wolves tonight. John Wall needs to continue to improve, so Ricky Rubio should be a strong test for him. Both players aren’t having ideal seasons, since they’ve both dealt with unfortunate injuries.

Minnesota has virtually no depth, while Washington is still working to find a solid rotation. Jan Vesely, who hasn’t played since last month, has now found his way back into the rotation. Trevor Booker, Chris Singleton and even Cartier Martin may have opportunities to play against the lowly Timberwolves.

These types of games are must wins for Washington and I expect them to pick up their sixth road victory of the season tonight.