Timberwolves lack swagger
MINNEAPOLIS – With everyone back on a team that made the Western Conference finals, the Minnesota Timberwolves expected to be at least as good this season.
The early going hasn’t been smooth at all, though. The Wolves rank just sixth in the West as 2004 comes to a close, and owner Glen Taylor can’t be pleased with a 16-11 record in exchange for one of the NBA’s five highest payrolls.
“We’ve got to get our swagger back,” said point guard Sam Cassell, one of several players responsible for the inconsistent start. “It’s a big win to beat us. You can see in the teams that beat us – their celebrations after the game.”
And a lot more opponents are getting that chance, something that didn’t seem likely given last season’s 58 victories and top seeding in the playoffs.
Plus, consider this: Cassell, Troy Hudson, Wally Szczerbiak and Michael Olowokandi recovered from injuries; three key reserves – Hudson, defensive stopper Trenton Hassell and sharp-shooter Fred Hoiberg – were re-signed to multiyear, multimillion contracts; and troubled-but-talented forward Eddie Griffin could be the league’s comeback player of the year as a solid backup to Kevin Garnett.
Something, however, has been missing.
“You’re never where you want to be, unless you’re 27-0,” coach Flip Saunders said. “The only team that’s probably feeling good right now is Miami, because they’ve won 13 in a row. We knew it was going to be a process. I think we’ve shown at times we can be really good, and we’ve shown at times we can be really bad. We just have to work now at gaining that consistency.”
Especially on defense.
Minnesota’s scheme revolves around reigning NBA MVP Garnett’s long arms in the middle and relies heavily on players’ rotating over to help a teammate. It doesn’t work if someone is out of position, though, and that’s been a problem many times.
“When we’re passive and not aggressive, that’s when our defense is bad and that carries over to our offense a lot of times,” Saunders said. “We’ve just got to kind of get a more consistent, aggressive approach.”
Szczerbiak, limited to 28 games last season by a left foot injury, is at full strength and playing well. He’s averaging 15.3 points in 32.5 minutes, second on the team in both categories behind Garnett (22.9 points, 39.6 minutes).
His defense has improved, too, but more floor time for him means less for Hassell – whose work shutting down opponents’ leading scorers was an important part of the Wolves’ success a year ago.
Defensive-minded center Ervin Johnson has also seen fewer minutes while Griffin, Olowokandi and Mark Madsen shuffle inside.
“We’ve had some good signs, and obviously we’ve had some bad signs,” Hoiberg said. “Learn from those games where we win by 20, 30 points. Realize why we had that margin of victory. It’s because we play defense from start to finish. When we don’t play well, we get off to poor starts. We let teams that we should beat stay in games.”
Such as against Chicago and Toronto – two of Minnesota’s most embarrassing road losses. The Wolves are 8-8 away from home and just 4-7 against the Eastern Conference.
While those on the outside might think otherwise, the team insists the negative off-court issues – Sprewell’s and Cassell’s contract complaints, Olowokandi’s arrest, Hudson’s recent gripe about his diminished role – have not been distractions.
“That’s just stuff the media tries to exploit,” Cassell said. “It’s like a family. No one has a perfect family. If they do, I want to be a part of (it). Things are going to happen. These aren’t distractions. The games are played on the court.”
Saunders’ biggest challenge has been, and will continue to be, finding the right amount of playing time for his deep rotation.
“We’re trying to build a foundation to win a championship, and that’s what we have to get back to doing,” he said. “I’ve talked to all of our guys, and everyone has a good understanding of where we’re at and what we need to do.”