Chris Bosh (ankle) will not play on Monday and remains questionable for Friday’s game vs. the New York Knicks. The good news is that he’ll get another four days off before Toronto plays New York, though that leaves him with a maximum of two games this week.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Orlando: The Orlando Magic rode Jameer Nelson’s 22 points and 10 assists to a victory on Monday — he made 8-of-11 shots, including 2-of-4 from downtown. This was just the third time all season Nelson has scored 20+ points, but he has scored double-digits in nine straight and is dishing out a season-high 6.7 assists per game in February.

Minnesota: Due to the two-game suspension of Al Jefferson, Darko Milicic is likely to start in his place for the next couple games. Obviously Kurt Rambis doesn’t want to break up the delicate bench rotation by starting Kevin Love for the 14-win T-Wolves. So it will be Darko, who is all set to go to Europe forever once the season is over, who will get the call tonight. If you want to use him for the Wolves’ two-game week, he should put up some numbers.

Oakland: Monta Ellis, who missed Saturday’s game with a sore back, is not with the team for the start of their five game road trip and is awaiting test results before determining his availability for the rest of the week.

Oakland: Andris Biedrins did not accompany the Warriors for the start of their five-game road trip and is out indefinitely with his groin injury. He’ll see a specialist soon in order to determine a plan for recovery.

Toronto: Jose Calderon will miss Monday’s game with a lacerated elbow he suffered on Sunday in Oklahoma City Thunder.

Houston: Trevor Ariza will not play on Monday because of his lingering hip injury. He was questionable coming in and should be considered day-to-day

A

The Wolves have suspended Al Jefferson for two games following his recent arrest on suspicion of DWI. Maybe with Big Al out Kurt Rambis will give Kevin Love a full set of minutes, but we’re not holding our breath. Darko Milicic also stands to benefit and could get as much run as he can handle, which isn’t saying much since he’s getting winded by just 22-24 mpg. Regardless, he’s worth watching to see how this plays out.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Miami: Dwyane Wade (calf) was a surprise participant in Sunday’s 96-80 loss to the Orlando Magic, and scored 21 points on 6-of-17 shooting with five rebounds, five assists, and one steal.

Milwaukee: John Salmons went off for season-high 32 points on 11-of-20 shooting (including two 3-pointers) with eight rebounds, four assists, and one steal.

New Jersey: Yi Jianlian scored 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting with a career-high 19 rebounds to go with two assists and a steal on Sunday.

Washington: Andray Blatche exploded for a career-high 36 points on 17-of-31 shooting with 15 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks, and hit two key jumpers with under 44 seconds left in the Wizards’ 89-85 win over the New Jersey Nets on Sunday. We can’t say enough about Blatche, who is the undisputed No. 1 option offensively for the Wizards. Tonight, they were force-feeding him the ball to the point that he was getting tired as a result of it.

Cleveland: Shaquille O’Neal will have surgery on this right thumb in Baltimore on Monday, and a timetable for his return will be announced after that. Surgery usually means a 6-8 week timetable for recovery, which means the appropriate question is whether or not he’ll be able to return for the NBA playoffs.

Cleveland: According to sources close to Phil Jackson, LeBron James has expressed interest in joining the Los Angeles Lakers. “LeBron wants to win. He’s a smart guy, and Phil loves LeBron, absolutely loves him,” according to the report. Obviously, there is way too much involved with a situation like this for one blurb, but if the report holds water then look for this to become a big storyline in the upcoming days.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the NBA’s newest teams, having entered the league in 1989. Their head coach is former NBA player Randy Wittman. The team vice president of basketball operations is former Hall of Fame forward Kevin McHale. They play their home games in the Target Center in Minneapolis.

Early Years

The first few years were rough ones for the T-Wolves. They won only 22 games in their inaugural campaign, and improved to 29 wins the following year. Firing their coach, Bill Musselman, didn’t help matters. Under new coach Jimmy Rodgers, the Wolves only won 15 games, the worst record in the NBA.

The T-Wolves selected high school phenom Kevin Garnett in 1995 and picked up New York playground legend and Georgia Tech point guard Stephon Marbury in 1996. Thw two players guided the T-Wolves to their first-ever playoff appearance in the 1996-97 season. They were swept in three games by the Houston Rockets in the first round.

In 1997, Kevin Garnett was signed to the most lucrative contract in league history, a 6-year, $126 million blockbuster that is generally blamed for the NBA’s ensuing lockout. The huge contract also fomented some bad blood inside the Minnesota organization, as Marbury fumed about not being the team’s highest-paid player. Marbury refused to sign a contract extension, and the T-Wolves were forced to trade him to the New Jersey Nets during the lockout-shortened 1999 season. The trade split up what many fans hoped would be a championship nucleus.

Playoff Appearances

Despite the inner and outer turmoil of the 1999 season, the T-Wolves managed to make the playoffs for a third straight time, with a 25-25 record. They lost in the first round to the San Antonio Spurs.

Kevin Garnett, the team’s star, had begun to gain a reputation for being a great regular-season player but disappearing in the playoffs. The team was regarded as one that could get to the playoffs but could not advance. They lost in the first round to the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1999-2000 playoffs. (Guard Malik Sealy was killed in a car crash in the ensuing offseason) In 2000-01, they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. They were swept in the first round by the Dallas Mavericks the following year. A seven-game loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002-03 made it seven straight first-round eliminations for the Timberwolves.

Desperate to shake things up, the Minnesota front office traded for guards Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell in 2003. The two veterans helped spur the T-Wolves to a 58-24 record and finally got the team out of the first round of the playoffs. They beat the Denver Nuggets in the first round, and the Sacramento Kings in the second round. However, they fell to the Lakers in the conference finals.

The 2003-04 season was the apex of the team’s fortunes, however. The team has not returned to the playoffs since.

2007-08 Season

The 2007-08 season will mainly be remembered as the year the T-Wolves traded away their franchise player. In a move that would have NBA title implications (though not for Minnesota), Kevin Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics for five, players and two first-round draft picks. Thus ended the Kevin Garnett era in Minnesota.

The T-Wolves posted a 22-60 record in 2007-08.

2008-09 Outlook

With a very young roster comprised of Randy Foye, Al Jefferson and Mike Miller, the T-Wolves find themselves looking up at much of the Western Conference. Few people expect them to compete for a playoff spot in the upcoming season, but with a lot of youth on the roster, the future could be bright for the Minnesota Timberwolves.