The Minnesota Timberwolves might be off to the most impressive 5-4 start in pro sports history.

OK, that might be a bit of a stretch, especially after back-to-back home losses to Charlotte and Golden State, both of which saw Minnesota embark on fourth-quarter comeback attempts that fell short.

But the Wolves are definitely treading water, despite the following players being injured: Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic, Ricky Rubio, Brandon Roy, Chase Budinger, J.J. Barea.

That’s four-fifths of the projected starting lineup, plus two valuable backups who the Wolves are playing without.

Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Alexey Shved (1) has played better with every game of experience. Associated Press photo

So who is left getting the job done?

Leading the pack for the Wolves right now is Andrei Kirilenko. His stat line from the exhibition game at the Fargodome last month didn’t jump off the page at you, but I was thoroughly impressed by his court vision and ability to make the extra pass when needed.

Kirilenko is shooting 60 percent from the floor so far, averaging 14 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

Last year’s first-round pick Derrick Williams also seemingly responded in his last game to criticism for not stepping up when called upon. He scored 23 points in the Wolves’ loss to the Warriors on Friday.

Alexey Shved has also looked really good with every game of experience. The rookie looked lost in his first couple of games, but his 22 points and seven assists on Friday night are cause for optimism. He made some great plays in that game.

The Wolves hope to have Pekovic back to soon, while Love and Rubio should return in about a month. Until then, the leftovers will have to try to hang in there. So far, so good.

The Minnesota Timberwolves made the shooting guard position a top priority this offseason. But the guy they wanted most of all won’t be going anywhere.

The Portland Trail Blazers matched the four-year, $45 million offer sheet given to Nicolas Batum by the Minnesota Timberwolves, which will keep the 23-year-old Frenchman in the Pacific Northwest.

The Wolves can take some consolation in the fact that they were able to get a conference foe to spend lots of money. But at the same time, Wednesday’s news was no doubt disappointing for the club.

Many experts agreed that Batum’s style of play would have been a great fit for head coach Rick Adelman‘s system in Minnesota. Batum averaged 14 points per game last season, and he has shown the ability to use his 6-foot-8 frame on defense to give the opponent fits.

As the Batum saga has drawn out, the free-agent pool for shooting guards has thinned. Courtney Lee is among the better shooting guards available, having scored 11 points per game and made 40 percent of his 3-point attempts last season for Houston.

With Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio (who is rehabbing from injury), the Wolves have two key building blocks going forward. But I still think they need one more significant piece. Could they go out and trade for Philadelphia guard Andre Iguodala and his massive contract? And would Iguodala be that piece?

Chances are that you’ve probably seen the last of Kevin Love for the remainder of the NBA season.

Earlier this week, the Minnesota Timberwolves standout power forward suffered a mild concussion. With the Wolves no longer in serious pursuit of a playoff spot, there’s really no reason to get Love back on the court.

And in the case of players like Anthony Randolph (who has 44 points and eight blocks over the last two games), Love’s injury gives the Wolves an opportunity to get a long look at some of the bench players.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love is averaging 26 points per game this season. Associated Press photo

It’s been a phenomenal season for Love, who just keeps getting better and better with every year of NBA experience. If he really is finished for the season, Love would have 2011-12 numbers of 26 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. In March, he became the first player ever to lead the NBA in scoring, rebounding and 3-point shooting for an entire month.

He ranks in the top five in scoring and rebounding in addition to his long-range shooting prowess. So it begs the question:

Can Love win the NBA’s MVP award?

Probably not. The award may be an individual one, but it does require team success. And with the Wolves in last place in the Northwest Division at 25-35, it would be pretty stunning to see Love get the nod.

But he is unquestionably worthy of consideration, and a finish outside of the top five in MVP voting would be outrageous.

Kevin Garnett was a superstar while playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves. But his abilities on the basketball court might be eclipsed only by his knack for the act.

And that’s not a bad thing. Sports is entertainment, whether we like it or not. And Garnett was a great entertainer during his decade-plus in the Twin Cities. He was “The Big Ticket” for a reason, always worth the price of admission. Whether it was sending rosin dust into the air during his pregame ritual at the scorer’s table or swatting an opponent’s shot into the fifth row, you didn’t dare blink when he was in.

Kevin Garnett dunks the ball in his return to the Twin Cities on Friday. Associated Press photo

Garnett was back at the Target Center on Friday night, leading his Boston Celtics to another ho-hum win against the Timberwolves. Garnett is now 6-0 against his former team.

Distracting from the Garnett vs. Kevin Love matchup was KG’s comments earlier in the week. He threw his former organization under the bus, saying that while he loves Minnesota and its fans, he had nothing positive to say about the organization.

Garnett’s comments added some fuel to a game that otherwise wouldn’t have had much to offer.

I especially enjoyed this give-and-take in Associated Press sports writer Jon Krawczynski’s story:

During the second quarter, Garnett was taking the ball out of bounds and a fan hollered: “Hey Kevin, please come back next year!”

Garnett simply muttered: “No way.”

After tallying 24 points and 10 rebounds in Friday’s win, I was left wondering what Garnett would say after the game.

But instead of sticking around to talk to the Fox Sports North crew, he scurried down the tunnel when the buzzer sounded with a towel atop his head, slowing down only to high-five a few fans on his way out.

Love Garnett or hate him. But at least keep watching.

The Minnesota Timberwolves will be suffering from a bit of “Love loss” the next couple of nights.

Star forward Kevin Love was suspended for Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s games after stepping on the chest and face of Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola.

The incident was just the latest sign of chippy play between the two players. And Love in particular has been involved in a number of physical plays this year.

But after watching the video, I was surprised Love got two games. It didn’t appear to be blatantly intentional. Love proclaimed his innocence following the Saturday game, but wasn’t exactly doing so in today’s story about the incident, calling the suspension “warranted”.

Love is averaging 25 points and 13.7 rebounds (2nd in the NBA) per game this season. The Wolves are a surprising 12-12 this season.

Prior to the start of the season, I didn’t think Kevin Love would be willing to sign a contract extension with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

That would have been a huge loss to a Twin Cities fan base, much of which is still bitter about the Kevin Garnett trade of a few years ago. Love is one of the best post players in the NBA, and the Wolves could ill afford to let the restricted-free-agent-to-be get away.

Turn the calendar back to August, and it just didn’t seem like he was staying. But after signing a four-year contract extension with the team on Wednesday, Love has agreed to stick around as the Wolves try to climb out of the rebuilding process.

Timberwolves forward Kevin Love scored 31 points on Wednesday. Associated Press

So what has changed in the last few months?

Well, the new collective bargaining agreement helps to a degree. Nobody knew what direction the CBA was headed in during the lockout. But there are still financial benefits to players who choose to re-sign with their teams.

What has also helped is the improvement on the court. The Wolves now have a proven head coach in Rick Adelman and a flashy point guard in Ricky Rubio. An 8-10 record may not sound impressive, but it’s a vast improvement from last year’s 17-65 showing. The team is not a playoff contender yet, but it does have a pulse again.

Fans have been patient with the organization for awhile, and that patience is starting to show signs of paying off. The Wolves are young, and thus, inconsistent. But they have some impressive wins under their belts, including two against the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks. The Wolves beat the Mavs again on Wednesday, just hours after Love signed his new contract.

It’s worth noting that Love’s four-year deal does have an opt-out clause after three years. But that really doesn’t matter. He is giving the Wolves a chance to become playoff contenders and maybe more over the next few years, and considering where the organization has been, that’s all it can ask for.

Five games into this season, the Minnesota Timberwolves have managed to produce their most exciting 2-3 team ever.

Back-to-back victories against defending champion Dallas and perennial playoff participant San Antonio will energize a fan base. And the Wolves’ three losses were by a combined nine points, and two of those losses came against title contenders Miami and Oklahoma City. So it’s been a tough schedule to open.

Kevin Love has been spectacular, averaging more than 25 points and 15 rebounds per game. I know there are still those that disagree, but you can’t tell me he’s not one of the three best post players in the NBA so far.

And of course there’s Ricky Rubio, who is averaging 8.8 points and 6.4 assists per game despite limited minutes. He has been impressive, despite Minnesota being careful with him in the early going. Funny how we haven’t heard much from those arguing a year or two ago that the team should just deal Rubio away because of his reluctance to go to the NBA immediately after being drafted.

I’m not convinced this is a playoff team just yet. Let’s see how the team responds as the schedule lightens up a bit over the next week.

Drunk-dialing CEOs and angry owners and Ricky Rubio … oh my!

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m loving the new NBA. 66 games? That’s great. Season was too long anyway. And there was so much juicy news this week too. I could care less if the league ever starts holding games.

Let’s begin:

• First off, Rubio arrived in the Twin Cities earlier this week to prepare for his long-awaited debut with the Minnesota Timberwolves. I got a hunch if the Wolves carry any sort of a pulse this year that the Minnesotans will be falling all over each other for this guy. One thing is for sure: He likes potato chips in this country (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s a story from his first day in Minnesota).
• A Chris Paul-to-Los Angeles Lakers trade was nixed late Thursday night. And reports are the NBA owners – who happen to own Paul’s current team the New Orleans Hornets – were so angry about the deal that they pleaded for NBA commissioner David Stern to do something. And now the trade is off, but the teams are reportedly still talking to each other about a trade. Seems like this labor deal didn’t work out as well for the owners as everyone thought. By the way, did you see Dan Gilbert’s email to Stern that was leaked? If not, you need to. I thought it was fake at first. Doesn’t sound like it.
• And finally, on-his-way-out Orlando Magic CEO Bob Vander Weide is in hot water over reports that he drunk-dialed Dwight Howard in hopes of keeping Howard on the Magic. Vander Weide does admit to having a couple glasses of wine before reaching out to Howard though. Too funny.

If it feels like it’s been awhile since the Minnesota Timberwolves hired a veteran head coach, that’s because it has been.

Rick Adelman has agreed in principle to become the team’s next head coach. He could be running the show in the regular season in November, or it could be later, depending on how long this NBA labor dispute drags on.

Rick Adelman will lead the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2011-12 season, whenever that starts. Associated Press photo

I like the hiring of Adelman, because at the very least he’s a known quantity within an organization that has few of them. He’s a solid coach who has produced plenty of 50- and 60-win seasons in his time in Portland, Sacramento and Houston and a forgettable stint with Golden State. Will he lead the Timberwolves to a championship? Probably not. But you know what you’re getting. He’s proven. He’s respected.

I think this puts David Kahn in the spotlight. Kudos to Kahn for the hire. But if the Wolves continue to tread water, my guess is people will more likely blame the team’s relatively inexperienced president of basketball operations rather than blame Adelman. Kahn is anything but proven.

And the players enter the spotlight as well. Kevin Love is considered one of the NBA’s most well-rounded post players. Michael Beasley averaged nearly 20 points per game last season. Wes Johnson looks like he has some potential. But where were the wins last season? With newcomers Derrick Williams (the team’s No. 2 overall pick) and Ricky Rubio arriving, a veteran coach can only help this youthful squad.

If the three legs of an organization are the head coach, the players and the front office, I feel like the Wolves have at least given themselves one sturdy leg. For that, they deserve credit.