Garnett and Co. hit stride
MINNEAPOLIS – Kevin Garnett caught the ball at the top of the key with plenty of space to shoot a long jumper late in the first half.
But Garnett, in his periphery, saw Marko Jaric camped in the corner. He zipped a pretty sidearm pass to Minnesota’s point guard, who made a 22-footer to stretch the Timberwolves’ lead over Los Angeles to 16.
Garnett has always thrived on getting his teammates involved, and he’s occasionally been criticized for being too unselfish. But this season, as that assist to Jaric in Saturday night’s game showed, Garnett’s tendency to share has buoyed an offense that has hit its stride six weeks into coach Dwane Casey’s tenure.
A 95-82 victory over the Lakers that featured 23 assists against only five turnovers marked Minnesota’s fifth straight.
Garnett tried to downplay the suggestion that this squad is more unselfish than the one that struggled through most of last year and helped get coach Flip Saunders fired.
“We’ve had a lot of team-oriented teams when I’ve been here,” he said. “Flip, he always motivated his teams to pass the ball, and Casey’s no different than that. Just the defensive end is probably the most important thing we’re stressing.”
Defense is probably the biggest reason why the Wolves (12-6) are succeeding. After enduring more than 3 1/2 minutes without scoring to start the fourth quarter Saturday, they still held a seven-point lead. Kobe Bryant made 11 of 20 shots and finished with 35 points, but he was consistently harassed by Trenton Hassell and pushed off the triangle Los Angeles bases its sets on under coach Phil Jackson.
“We really buckled in and tied in,” Casey said. “I know as a coach that’s a beautiful thing to see.”
But back to the offense. It wasn’t pretty in November, partly because of Wally Szczerbiak’s shooting problems. He’s found a rhythm now, averaging 24.4 points in five December games. And everyone on the court is aware of placement and improved shot selection.
“We want to be aggressive. We’re just not a one-man show,” Casey said. “All our guys can have the ability to do their thing offensively. They have a place in the offense. … In each one of our sets, you have an opportunity. I think guys are figuring out within the offensive sets where they can get their shots, where they can get their opportunities. It’s clicking a little bit.”
With Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell gone, Szczerbiak has clearly become the second option to Garnett – whether it’s slashing or shooting from the outside.
“I always got to the hoop quite a bit. That’s a big part of my game,” he said. “I can get angles and use my strength and size and I can get to the hole. And now that I’m knocking down jumpers, people are really coming out at me, so that’s opening up my drives to the basket quite a bit. Maybe it seems like I’m more aggressive because I’m on the floor more.”
Last year, trouble arrived in training camp, when first Cassell and then Sprewell set an ominous tone for a vastly disappointing season by griping about their contracts.
This year, one has to look way down at the end of the bench to find any hint of dissent, where newcomer Nikoloz Tskitishvili is frustrated that he hasn’t appeared in a game yet.
Certainly, harmony in the locker room helps on the court. Whether it’s making sure teammates get the ball when they’re open or hustling over to their aid on defense when the opponent is attacking.
“We’re just taking it personally not to allow guys to just walk in the lane,” Szczerbiak said. “Now we’ve got the personnel and we’ve got a great scheme. So we’re doing a good job of it.”