Game #64, Road Game #32, Golden State 106, Minnesota 86
1. Postponing the Obvious
So, did you catch that playoff fever? Heading into last night’s Golden State game, the Wolves only had to defeat the Warriors and have the Clips lose on the road in Charlotte to sneak into that 8th playoff seed with just a titch over a month to go in the season. What did it matter that Minnesota was embarking on a five-game road trip, that they’d lost 12 of their past 13 away from Target Center, including eight in a row, and that the Warriors were undefeated in the four games in which they’d been both healthy and replenished by the talent they’d obtained in the Indiana steal?
Naturally, it mattered a lot. The squad got waxed by 20, and it wasn’t that close. Hopefully you’ll notice there isn’t a lot of playoff talk in this forum. It seems more than a little tacky for a team that’s gone 8-20 and stubbornly refuses to see that their most effective lineups and player rotations in the present are precisely those that also best prepare them for the future. That message couldn’t have clearer in the Indiana win earlier this week. It is the focus of the franchise’s sudden media blitz to cajole people into buying season tickets for next year. And, for those with a little patience and foresight, it is actually a fairly exciting prospect–Randy Foye, Rashad McCants and Craig Smith are the answer now, as well as later.
So what does Randy Wittman and the rest of the “braintrust” do as they head into the most crucial five-game stretch of their season? Why, they ride the guys whose attitudes and work ethics have been most questionable, the guys who have been chronic losers for most or all of their careers, the players who have already driven this squad into the latrine over the last two months. Oh, and by invoking this strategy, they double up on the toxicity by discouraging the talented kids who are the only things preventing a rush for the exits by the superstar and any basketball fan with half a brain in this town.
Specifically, what else does Mark Blount need to do to demonstrate that he effectively checked out at the All Star break–take a whizz on the logo at center court? Blount had six turnovers in 16:39 last night, and was a -20 according to popcornmachine.net, meaning the Wolves played the Warriors even in the 31:21 Blount was on the bench. He has consistently sabotaged this team with his shoddy performances since the break, plays so soft that he emboldens opposing big men, makes decisions with the basketball and when to stay in the 3-second area that would be boneheaded for a rookie, let alone a supposed mature veteran, and carries himself with the mien of someone who refuses to let passion invigorate his game–unless there is some personal thing at stake, like his dislike of the Celtic franchise. Mark Madsen and Craig Smith are both woefully undersized, but so what? Both play bigger than Blount. Both play harder than Blount. And both earn way less than half of what Blount is making.
Move on to Ricky Davis. Minus 29 in 33:17 of play. That means the Wolves outscored the Warriors by 9 in the 14:43 Davis sat his ass down. He was 3-14 from the field, but that’s forgiveable–does anyone doubt Davis wants the ball to go in when he shoots? No, what’s repugnant is watching Davis feign as if he is running at his man on defense, already too late to do anything about the wide open J because he didn’t exert the effort earlier. But as he is feigning the D, he is giving himself momentum to start running the other way, in hopes of leaking out for easy buckets. Indeed, most of the time Davis is ducking to avoid the foul as the man shoots. There were two places last night where the Wolves tossed this game–right at the onset, when the Wolves didn’t score a field goal for five minutes and fell behind 3-13, and during the third quarter when Golden State roared through a 16-4 run that put them up 72-50 less than halfway through the period. Davis and Blount were the chief culprits in the opening stasis and Davis’s pathetic defense was the primary catalyst in the third period meltdown, sparked by Stephen Jackson.
It seems pointless (pardon the pun) to pick on Troy Hudson anymore. Suffice to say that he was -14 in 14:49, missed two-thirds of his shots, was not strong enough to guard Baron Davis and not quick enough to guard Monta Ellis. A couple of weeks ago he was suddenly inserted into the starting lineup to jolt the offense into productivity. Last night the Wolves committed a season-high 25 turnovers and scored just 86 against one of the worst, most permissive defensive teams in the league.
If you think Blount, Davis, and Hudson can ever be vital parts of a team contending for a championship, Forbes Magazine has a subscription form they’d like you to fill out.
2. Once More, With Feeling: The Kids Are Alright
According to popcornmachine.net, Rashad McCants was a team-best +3 in 19:57 of play. He had trouble locating Mikel Pietrus, the super-athletic French import, during the second quarter, but otherwise McCants continues to demonstrate a refined grasp of how to play the game. Perhaps most impressive is his restraint–the McCants of last year would have turned 20-point deficits into 35 or 40 with terrible, selfish shot selection, indifferent defense, and a blame-oriented, dolorous attitude. This year, without his full complement of physical skills, he is defending better both on the ball and in zone and rotation situations, accepting the mundane aspects of running the offense with a dedication that improves its efficiency, boxing out and contesting for rebounds with an added vigor, and maintaining a mostly positive mindset amidst the blizzard of bullshit that has become the team’s normal operating procedure.
Randy Foye shot just 3-9 FG but led the team with 20 points because he got to the line 14 times and sank every attempt. (Quick aside: When a free throw is called for after an opposing technical foul or defensive three-seconds call, it is time for Kevin Garnett to cede the role of free throw shooter to Foye and anyone else whose accuracy from the line is greater.) Foye also led the team in assists with 7 (more than a third of the squad’s 19) and committed just 3 turnovers (less than an eighth of the squad’s 25) in 33:11 of play. Right now if the situation was reversed and Foye was the vet and Troy Hudson and Mike James were the green rooks, and you knew the Wolves had to build for the future, you’d still probably counsel starting Foye and playing him the overwhelming majority of minutes, on the premise that the other two simply weren’t ready and might have their confidence shaken by chronic exposure to a game that overwhelms them.
The notion that starting Foye would put too much pressure on him is obviously rendered moot by the fact that you already have started
him. The notion that he can be more aggressive coming in with the second unit instead of the first ignores the obvious fact that a coach can actually advise a rookie point guard to be more aggressive anyway, and let the other starters adjust accordingly. The notion that Randy Foye or the Minnesota Timberwolves are benefitting in any way, shape, or form from waiting until the team is well behind before bringing him in, is, of course, ludicrous.
In a perfect world, the 19:55 Craig Smith played last night is probably about right for his skill set and role. Smith is a change-of-pace, a mucker with a nice touch around the hoop, an unusual presence because of his ‘tweener size, enhancing the odds of mismatches for both sides. Unfortunately, with Mark Blount ratifying most every nasty thing his critics have ever tossed at him, Smith needs at least 30 minutes, or Mark Madsen needs 10-15 more than he’s currently getting. Because of the relative obscurity he will probably always have to endure because of his limited skills and smallish size, Smith will continue to be jobbed by officials (especially on charge versus blocking foul calls) his entire career. But right now he is the best offensive rebounder and second-best big man overall on this squad. Not bad for a second round draft pick.
3. Pictures Telling A Thousand Words
Kevin Garnett’s whole-hearted endorsement of Randy Wittman and his obvious enervation and distaste when Blount and Davis are doing their mail-it-in thang seem contradictory, given that Wittman is enabling the Boston duo. It is just more evidence that KG would make a lousy GM.
But let’s not forget that the best Timberwolves player on the court last night by a country mile was Kevin Garnett, who was absolutely swarmed every time he touched the ball, was manhandled by players big and small, in large part because there is no quality Big who has his back, and who was absolutely spent late midway through the 4th quarter when he missed two free throws after making his first seven. After Wittman mercifully sat Garnett down in the last three minutes, his stone cold stare at the proceedings on the floor was equal parts fatigue, dillusionment, and ire. Then, just as Jim Petersen and Tom Hanneman were talking the woeful state of the team and how important this stretch of games were, there was a closeup of Hudson and Davis sitting next to each, both flashing big smiles.
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