Posted on Sun, May. 23, 2004
Oh, my achin' back
BY MIKE WELLS
Pioneer Press
As the Timberwolves practiced Saturday afternoon, starting point guard Sam Cassell sat in the corner in street clothes. Cassell's sore back and hip make his status questionable for Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at Target Center.
Cassell said he's going to play, but others weren't so sure.
"If he's going to hurt himself more, then he's not going to play," Wolves coach Flip Saunders said Saturday. "If he's able to play and not hurt himself anymore, no matter what, even on one leg, even yesterday he was able to make shots early. There's no question the extended timeouts and long halftimes have hurt him."
Cassell has fought off nagging injuries through most of the playoffs, but he was unable to play in the fourth quarter of the Wolves' 97-88 loss Friday. Saunders wanted to use him, but Cassell's back was too stiff. Cassell's absence was significant because he has been the Wolves' best fourth-quarter player.
"It was tough," he said. "There was five minutes to go and I pride myself in helping my teams take over games with five minutes to go. I couldn't get up and down the court comfortably. I knew it wasn't a good time for me to go back in the game.''
Cassell said he hurt his back when he tipped a pass in the third quarter and when he tried to take a charge against Lakers star Kobe Bryant.
The Wolves' playoff future depends on Cassell because they don't have a suitable alternative. Saunders can go with a big lineup, which features Kevin Garnett, Latrell Sprewell or Fred Hoiberg playing point guard the majority of the game. The Wolves simplify the offense and run fewer sets when one of those three plays the point.
"It does set up a situation that is unknown, kind of uncharted for us," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We don't know exactly how to play them with Garnett as a 7-foot point or Sprewell handling the ball or Hoiberg or whomever. Sam is a very potent weapon. He was very successful against us early. So it will change up a lot of what they do."
The downside to that lineup is Garnett and Sprewell are forced to exert so much of their energy bringing the ball up along with scoring, rebounding and defending. Garnett suffers the most by Cassell's absence. Saunders said Garnett handled the ball too much and the league's most valuable player started to tire.
"Whatever Flip asks me to do, I'll do," Garnett said. "I have to pick and choose when to attack. It's not easy being a point and then having to try to get in the mix of the rhythm."
Ideally, Saunders would turn to the bench and give backup Darrick Martin the majority of Cassell's minutes. But with the possibility of falling behind 0-2 in the best-of-seven series, a one-legged Cassell might be better than a healthy Martin. The journeyman Martin hasn't played in the past two games.
The Wolves have outscored opponents by 34 points in the playoffs with Cassell in the lineup and they've been outscored by 32 points with Martin on the court.
If Cassell does play, the Lakers are going to continue being physical with him the entire length of the court. He had 16 points and eight assists in 32 minutes Friday. As important as tonight's game is, the Wolves don't want Cassell to hurt his back even more. If he does play they'll closely monitor his movement.
One thing is for sure, the Lakers don't have any sympathy for Cassell's injury.
"I would have to say no one feels sorry," said Lakers forward Karl Malone, who is seeking his first NBA title. "When I went down with my injury, we didn't get get-well cards from opposing teams. If he's hurt, he's hurt. You can't do anything about it. The game's still going to go on."
Oh, my achin' back
BY MIKE WELLS
Pioneer Press
As the Timberwolves practiced Saturday afternoon, starting point guard Sam Cassell sat in the corner in street clothes. Cassell's sore back and hip make his status questionable for Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at Target Center.
Cassell said he's going to play, but others weren't so sure.
"If he's going to hurt himself more, then he's not going to play," Wolves coach Flip Saunders said Saturday. "If he's able to play and not hurt himself anymore, no matter what, even on one leg, even yesterday he was able to make shots early. There's no question the extended timeouts and long halftimes have hurt him."
Cassell has fought off nagging injuries through most of the playoffs, but he was unable to play in the fourth quarter of the Wolves' 97-88 loss Friday. Saunders wanted to use him, but Cassell's back was too stiff. Cassell's absence was significant because he has been the Wolves' best fourth-quarter player.
"It was tough," he said. "There was five minutes to go and I pride myself in helping my teams take over games with five minutes to go. I couldn't get up and down the court comfortably. I knew it wasn't a good time for me to go back in the game.''
Cassell said he hurt his back when he tipped a pass in the third quarter and when he tried to take a charge against Lakers star Kobe Bryant.
The Wolves' playoff future depends on Cassell because they don't have a suitable alternative. Saunders can go with a big lineup, which features Kevin Garnett, Latrell Sprewell or Fred Hoiberg playing point guard the majority of the game. The Wolves simplify the offense and run fewer sets when one of those three plays the point.
"It does set up a situation that is unknown, kind of uncharted for us," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We don't know exactly how to play them with Garnett as a 7-foot point or Sprewell handling the ball or Hoiberg or whomever. Sam is a very potent weapon. He was very successful against us early. So it will change up a lot of what they do."
The downside to that lineup is Garnett and Sprewell are forced to exert so much of their energy bringing the ball up along with scoring, rebounding and defending. Garnett suffers the most by Cassell's absence. Saunders said Garnett handled the ball too much and the league's most valuable player started to tire.
"Whatever Flip asks me to do, I'll do," Garnett said. "I have to pick and choose when to attack. It's not easy being a point and then having to try to get in the mix of the rhythm."
Ideally, Saunders would turn to the bench and give backup Darrick Martin the majority of Cassell's minutes. But with the possibility of falling behind 0-2 in the best-of-seven series, a one-legged Cassell might be better than a healthy Martin. The journeyman Martin hasn't played in the past two games.
The Wolves have outscored opponents by 34 points in the playoffs with Cassell in the lineup and they've been outscored by 32 points with Martin on the court.
If Cassell does play, the Lakers are going to continue being physical with him the entire length of the court. He had 16 points and eight assists in 32 minutes Friday. As important as tonight's game is, the Wolves don't want Cassell to hurt his back even more. If he does play they'll closely monitor his movement.
One thing is for sure, the Lakers don't have any sympathy for Cassell's injury.
"I would have to say no one feels sorry," said Lakers forward Karl Malone, who is seeking his first NBA title. "When I went down with my injury, we didn't get get-well cards from opposing teams. If he's hurt, he's hurt. You can't do anything about it. The game's still going to go on."
