Timberwolves local news

[Big Daddy]

Posted on Sun, May. 16, 2004





WOLVES REPORT: Martin surprised by his ejection

BY MIKE WELLS and BRIAN HAMILTON

Pioneer Press


Darrick Martin never had been kicked out of a game. The Timberwolves backup guard didn't quite know what to do after getting ejected from Friday night's Game 5 against Sacramento at Target Center.

But equally puzzling to Martin? That he and Kings forward Brad Miller were ejected at all.

"It was just me trying to get over a pick, that was it. Nothing more, nothing less," Martin said Saturday. "He took exception to me getting over the pick in a strong fashion, and that was it.

"That's just playoff basketball. Play on. I didn't expect either one of us to get kicked out."

Martin was guarding Kings guard Mike Bibby and encountered a screen set at the top of the key by Miller. Martin, the Kings said, hit Miller below the belt. The combustible Miller helped Martin to the floor. Both were assessed technical fouls and ejected with 33 seconds left in the third quarter.

Miller might have swiped at Martin, too, raising the possibility of a suspension. But Martin said that would be wrong.

"You know what? I wouldn't suspend him," Martin said. "I don't think he punched me. Those who know me ? if I thought I'd gotten punched, I probably would have reacted a lot different than what I did. Like I said, I thought it was two guys playing hard, playing physical."

As for the contention he hit Miller in the groin?

"He's 6-11, I'm 5-11," Martin said. "If I need to get over the pick, and he's standing straight up, where I get over the pick is at his lower extremities. That's just size."

Garnett still quiet: Despite the U.S. Olympic men's basketball team roster being set Friday without his name on it, Wolves forward Kevin Garnett declined to discuss why he decided not to play this summer in Athens.

"My only focus is Sunday," Garnett said. "All the talk we've had is about how we stop this team. I haven't thought about nothing else."

Garnett won a gold medal with the 2000 U.S. Olympic team. By not playing in the Olympics, there is less of a chance of him reporting to Wolves training camp in the fall worn out or injured.

"It's an individual choice," Wolves coach Flip Saunders said. "I've always been a big supporter of USA Basketball and representing your country, but he's done that. In the old days, guys only did it one time and then you gave an opportunity for other people."

Past experience: The Kings' playoff experience is far more extensive than the Wolves', mainly because Minnesota hasn't been this far before. And Sacramento need only look to last season for how to respond to a 3-2 deficit, having beaten Dallas in a West semifinal Game 6 before dropping Game 7 on the road.

"What you learn most, going through the experiences, is that just like (Game 5) ? trust me, I'm not complaining about the officials ? every game changes," Kings coach Rick Adelman said after Friday's loss. "You just learn to forget about tonight. And the next game is going to be totally different again.

"We won't be feeling the same, players won't play the same. We've got to get ourselves in a positive frame of mind."

 

[Big Daddy]

Posted on Sun, May. 16, 2004





Wolves get gritty behind defense

BY BRIAN HAMILTON

Pioneer Press


The Timberwolves are showing signs lately of being a really good defensive team.

That's not something you could say about the Wolves before in their 15 years of existence. But in taking a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals against Sacramento, the Wolves have for the most part shut down one of the league's premier offenses.

The Wolves held the Kings to 74 points and 33 percent shooting Friday night in an 86-74 victory in Game 5, and not since March 28, 1954, when the franchise was known as the Rochester Royals, have the Kings scored fewer than 74 points in a playoff game.

Those are signs the Wolves are establishing the foundation of a premier defensive unit. Or, to put it another way: Because the Kings are laying bricks, so, too, are the Wolves.

"You have to build a reputation," Wolves coach Flip Saunders said. "In one year, they're not going to give you your due props. You have to build that up over time."

Sacramento's scoring is down (the Kings averaged 102.8 points during the regular season but 93.4 against the Wolves with one overtime game), the Kings' overall shooting is down (league-best .462 during the season, .400 during the series), and their three-point shooting has gone AWOL (league-best .401 during the year, .263 in this semifinal).

And that perhaps has transformed, for good, the way the Wolves view themselves.

"I think we trust it more than our offense, because we know defense wins games," Wolves forward Kevin Garnett said. "I think games we lose are when we're not defensively minded and defensively focused. We really lean on it."

The Wolves' defense has key elements that might be especially frustrating for the Kings. First, from Garnett to Trenton Hassell to Fred Hoiberg to Latrell Sprewell and others, players can guard multiple positions and do it well. Hoiberg, for instance, even guarded Denver's 5-foot-5 Earl Boykins.

Sacramento has scorers like the ocean has fish. But the Wolves can have a fresh, adequate defender on each of them at all times.

"You know you can go out there and play hard, and you don't have to worry about getting tired, because the person backing you up is just as good," Hassell said.

Said Sprewell: "I just think it gives different looks. They don't get accustomed to one particular way of playing certain things."

That also leads to the Wolves being more aggressive, challenging every shot. The Kings have found wide-open looks hard to come by.

"We talk about that daily ? when a guy is up to shoot it, don't ever quit on a play," Hoiberg said. "Get out there, put a hand in their face, run at him, jump. Statistics don't lie. Players' shooting percentages go way down when you get out and contest a shot. That's our focus."

It is the way to win a championship, as anyone with access to a basketball clich? handbook can tell you. But more than that, for the Wolves, it's a watershed period in franchise history.

No offense, but now there's every reason to get defensive.

"Collectively as a team, I don't think that's been the major identity," Garnett said. "But it's something we're growing into."


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Brian Hamilton can be reached at bchamilton@pioneerpress.com.

 

[Big Daddy]

Posted on Sun, May. 16, 2004





Cassell's back no big concern

BY MIKE WELLS

Pioneer Press


The high-fives and pats on the back were kept to a minimum Friday night after the Timberwolves' pivotal 86-74 victory over Sacramento at Target Center.

The victory gave the Wolves a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven playoff series, but they still have some unfinished business before moving on to the Western Conference finals.

"Our mentality and mind-set can't change," Wolves forward Kevin Garnett said after the game. "The first thing we did when we got into the locker room was say our backs are against the wall. That's our mentality going to Sac. We have to view it as it is. This is the momentum game."

If the Wolves are going to wrap up the series this afternoon at ARCO Arena, they're going to have to do it without a completely healthy point guard. Starter Sam Cassell labored through Friday's game with back spasms and scored a season-low three points. Cassell also struggled on defense. He picked up two quick fouls because of his inability to move.

"I didn't have any strength and I couldn't explode off it," he said Friday. "It was spazzing up on me. It comes and goes."

Cassell, who said he has been dealing with back spasms for some time, declined to comment after practice Saturday, but coach Flip Saunders said his all-star point guard felt better and they plan to play him about 35 minutes today. Cassell has been getting ice and electric stimulation on his back. Garnett and Latrell Sprewell are probably going to have to carry the scoring load because Cassell said after the game he's having a tough time shooting jumpers.

"If his back is bad again tomorrow, it's going to be bad for us," Saunders said Saturday. "We're going to prepare like he's ready to play his usual amount of minutes. I don't think his back is going to be an issue. He was moving as well today as he was two days ago."

Despite clearly appearing to be in pain, Cassell, the Wolves' best fourth-quarter player, played 20 of the 24 minutes in the second half Friday. Normally, the Wolves run a lot of pick-and-rolls on offense, but they simplified things by running a couple of sets to take some of the load off Cassell.

"Sam did a great job of running the offense, getting the ball to guys so they could be effective," Fred Hoiberg said. "He called plays for Spree and Kevin. He didn't over dribble. He got us into situations where if you get the ball here, good things will happen. He just didn't score a lot, but he did get us into our offense."

Although it's unlikely there will be any major match-up changes, it wouldn't be surprising if the Kings try to test Cassell at both ends of the court at the start of the game.

"If they're going to do that, I assume they're not going to do it with one of their main guys," Saunders said. "That's always a danger, but I don't think they're going to play too much out of character."

What the Wolves have in their favor is that Doug Christie, who Cassell has been guarding, isn't a big scoring threat.

If Cassell can't play through the pain, the Wolves won't panic because they're used to adjusting on the fly. Whether the Kings pressure the ball or play back will help Saunders decide whether to bring Darrick Martin off the bench or go with his big lineup that features Garnett at the point. When Martin plays, the offense generally isn't as effective. It runs smoother when Garnett, Latrell Sprewell or Hoiberg play the point because they move the ball better.

"We've been playing without Wally (Szczerbiak), we've been without (Michael Olowokandi), we had to play without Sam when he got into foul trouble. It's something we have to do," Garnett said. "I have confidence Sam will be fine."


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Mike Wells covers the Timberwolves and the NBA. He can be reached at mwells@pioneerpress.com.