Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-US PRESSWIRE

After starting the season 5-2, the Minnesota Timberwolves have lost their last five games and now find themselves third from the bottom in the Western Conference at 5-7.

Every game matters in the West. Only two and a half wins separate the fourth (Los Angeles Clippers) and thirteenth (Minnesota) seeds.

Even with the early return of Kevin Love (broke his hand back in October, was expected to miss upwards of eight weeks), the Wolves have struggled to find the same magic that made them one of the leagues big surprises during the first two to three weeks of the season.

Well Wolves fans, never fear, as it appears starting point guard Ricky Rubio may in fact be making a earlier than expected return to the team as well.

Rubio tore his ACL back in March during the final moments of a game against the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s been out of action ever since.

Timberwolves beat writer Jerry Zgoda, who writes for the Star-Tribune, suggests that the date for Rubio’s potential return (which was originally around Christmas) has in fact been moved up a bit.

David Kahn said he still isn’t putting a timetable on Rubio’s return, as he hasn’t done all along.

But there’s no question Rubio’s return is getting closer, maybe closer than expected, particularly if you weren’t expecting him back until Christmas or later.

He’s been working out quite vigorously on his own before games — just saw him working up a sweat shooting and doing other drills — and it’s certainly possible he could be back in a game perhaps even sometime that first week of December, or shortly thereafter..

In fact, a doctors visit later this week could clear Ricky for practice as early as this Thursday.

Lord knows Minnesota could use their starting point guard back sooner rather than later.

With all due respect to Luke Ridnour and J.J Barea (who have both proven to be worthy backups in his absence), Rubio presents the long-term future of the Wolves organization. They need him back on the court to improve upon what was quite the remarkable rookie season.

In 2011-12. Ricky averaged 10.6 points and 8.2 assists a game. Despite shooting just 35% from the field, Rubio always made a huge impact whenever he was on the court, whether it be with his highlight-reel passes or stellar perimeter defense.

“When (Rubio) was healthy last year, he was very good keeping the people in front of him,” Rick Adelman said via The Star-Tribune. “He was able to control the guard he was guarding and not let him get around him. He was in the Top 5 in steals. He was always in the right spot defensively as a team defender, too. He’ll help us. He’s give us a little more size there. His instincts will help us a lot.”

The team has yet to confirm any reports on Rubio’s health and his potential return, but for Timberwolves fans around the nation, it can’t come soon enough.

Christopher Walder is a sports blogger and lead editor for Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter @WalderSports

Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

The injury report for the Minnesota Timberwolves is starting to grow larger than the actual roster.

You can now add starting small forward Chase Budinger to a list of injured Wolves players that includes Ricky Rubio (torn left knee ligaments), Kevin Love (broken right hand), Brandon Roy (sore right knee) and J.J Barea (sprained left foot). Budinger will miss the next 3-4 months of the season after undergoing surgery on his left knee.

Starting center Nikola Peckovic also finds himself on the sidelines after spraining his left ankle during Monday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Four of Minnesota’s five projected starters to begin the year are already missing time as they battle major injuries. Even with all of that bad luck, head coach Rick Adelman still has these short-handed Timberwolves sitting at 5-2. That’s good enough for second in the Northwest division and fifth in the Western Conference.

How is this happening? How are the Timberwolves remaining afloat?

It’s because of their defense.

In each of their seven games, the common ingredient has been their strong defensive rating. In their five wins, they had a better defensive rating as their opponent, while they had a worse rating in their two losses. They rank second in defensive rating and second in points allowed (88.4).

Andrei Kirilenko has not waited long to re-adjust to the NBA game, as he’s currently tied for second in defensive win shares.

From an offensive standpoint, the Timberwolves have had five different players lead the team in scoring in their first seven games.  Furthermore, their expected wins (according to www.basketball-reference.com) for the remainder of the season have them ranked ninth in the NBA. That’s good enough for a playoff spot out west.

The law of averages say that Minnesota is primed to regress towards the mean, especially with all of their injuries.  However, there upcoming schedule could be their saving grace  The Wolves next three outings are winnable home games against the Charlotte Bobcats, Golden State Warriors, and the surprisingly inefficient Denver Nuggets (16th in FG% and 25th in points per shot).  The Timberwolves then begin a four-game road trip against the Portland Trail Blazers, Warriors, Sacramento Kings, and Los Angeles Clippers.  The way their defense has been to start the year, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Wolves take three of four on that trip.

Finally, Minnesota finishes off November with a home game against the resurgent Milwaukee Bucks. Add that all up, and the Minnesota Timberwolves could be entering December with a 10-4 record.

Last season, the Wolves didn’t get their 10th win until their 23rd game.

Minnesota was a major sleeper pick in the Western Conference before the season began as a team that could really make some noise and vault up the standings in 2012/13. The second Kevin Love went down with an injury, this team was completely neglected by all pundits (including yours truly). Injuries or not, Rick Adelman has his team united and winning basketball games, letting their defense do the talking.

As long as they’ve got bodies on that court, do you really want to continue doubting these Timberwolves?

I’m a believer.

FOLLOW JAY ROSALES ON TWITTER @ROSALESAURUS