Posted on Mon, Apr. 26, 2004
Wolves must seek answers inside
BY MIKE WELLS
Pioneer Press
DENVER ? The tone of Saturday night's game between the Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets was set early.
The Wolves pride themselves on being a team that looks inside for shots first and passes back out to the perimeter when necessary, but they shot jumpers on 10 of their first 13 possessions and scored just six points. The Nuggets, who don't really have an inside presence, had a dunk and a three-point play among their first 10 possessions.
Those were telling signs in the Nuggets' 107-86 victory. The Wolves never established themselves inside, and they let the Nuggets do what they wanted en route to scoring 60 points in the paint.
If the Wolves expect to head back to the Twin Cities with a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, they will have to do a better job of protecting and scoring in the paint. Game 4 is Tuesday at the Pepsi Center.
"Especially early, we sort of set the way things are going to be by not getting inside and not penetrating and not being aggressive," guard Latrell Sprewell said. "Hopefully we'll learn from that."
The Wolves, who had won 11 consecutive games, played as though a force field were keeping them from attacking the basket. They didn't shoot a free throw until 1:29 remained in the first half. Even then, Sprewell was fouled as he took a three-point shot. For the game, the Wolves scored 26 points in the paint.
"What you establish early is what you can go back to later on in the game," forward Kevin Garnett said. "I didn't really do that. I really felt like I didn't establish anything. Look for me to be aggressive a lot more along those lines, establishing the middle. When we get into a flow early, we're pretty much unbeatable, but we have to get into that flow offensively and defensively early."
In the second half, the Wolves finally took the ball to the basket with authority. Led by Garnett's seven attempts, the Wolves shot 18 free throws, including 14 in the third quarter, when they cut the Nuggets' lead to seven points.
"We have to put pressure on every team defensively at the rim," coach Flip Saunders said. "You get them back on their heels, get them in some foul trouble, you get to the free-throw line. Getting to the free-throw line takes away the crowd momentum."
The Wolves never had momentum because they never controlled the inside. The Nuggets got most of their 60 points in the paint not by pounding the ball in to a dominating big man but by pushing the ball up the court for layups. They scored 48 points off layups, dunks or tip-ins.
"They took what was our strength and made it our weakness," Saunders said.
Defense has been one of the Wolves' strong suits. They finished fourth in the NBA in lowest field-goal percentage allowed at 41.4 percent. They have three players in Garnett, Michael Olowokandi and Ervin Johnson who can keep opponents from driving to the basket because of their shot-blocking ability. Olowokandi was the least effective of the three because of foul trouble. He had one rebound, no blocked shots and five fouls in 11 minutes.
"We pride ourselves on containing the paint," guard Sam Cassell said. "Like I told the fellows, in playoff basketball, sometimes it's best to lose that way. Now you know your whole mind frame has to be evaluated differently. We understand why we lost the game. That burning edge we had, you'll see it Tuesday."
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Mike Wells covers the Timberwolves and the NBA. He can be reached at mwells@pioneerpress.com.
Wolves must seek answers inside
BY MIKE WELLS
Pioneer Press
DENVER ? The tone of Saturday night's game between the Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets was set early.
The Wolves pride themselves on being a team that looks inside for shots first and passes back out to the perimeter when necessary, but they shot jumpers on 10 of their first 13 possessions and scored just six points. The Nuggets, who don't really have an inside presence, had a dunk and a three-point play among their first 10 possessions.
Those were telling signs in the Nuggets' 107-86 victory. The Wolves never established themselves inside, and they let the Nuggets do what they wanted en route to scoring 60 points in the paint.
If the Wolves expect to head back to the Twin Cities with a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, they will have to do a better job of protecting and scoring in the paint. Game 4 is Tuesday at the Pepsi Center.
"Especially early, we sort of set the way things are going to be by not getting inside and not penetrating and not being aggressive," guard Latrell Sprewell said. "Hopefully we'll learn from that."
The Wolves, who had won 11 consecutive games, played as though a force field were keeping them from attacking the basket. They didn't shoot a free throw until 1:29 remained in the first half. Even then, Sprewell was fouled as he took a three-point shot. For the game, the Wolves scored 26 points in the paint.
"What you establish early is what you can go back to later on in the game," forward Kevin Garnett said. "I didn't really do that. I really felt like I didn't establish anything. Look for me to be aggressive a lot more along those lines, establishing the middle. When we get into a flow early, we're pretty much unbeatable, but we have to get into that flow offensively and defensively early."
In the second half, the Wolves finally took the ball to the basket with authority. Led by Garnett's seven attempts, the Wolves shot 18 free throws, including 14 in the third quarter, when they cut the Nuggets' lead to seven points.
"We have to put pressure on every team defensively at the rim," coach Flip Saunders said. "You get them back on their heels, get them in some foul trouble, you get to the free-throw line. Getting to the free-throw line takes away the crowd momentum."
The Wolves never had momentum because they never controlled the inside. The Nuggets got most of their 60 points in the paint not by pounding the ball in to a dominating big man but by pushing the ball up the court for layups. They scored 48 points off layups, dunks or tip-ins.
"They took what was our strength and made it our weakness," Saunders said.
Defense has been one of the Wolves' strong suits. They finished fourth in the NBA in lowest field-goal percentage allowed at 41.4 percent. They have three players in Garnett, Michael Olowokandi and Ervin Johnson who can keep opponents from driving to the basket because of their shot-blocking ability. Olowokandi was the least effective of the three because of foul trouble. He had one rebound, no blocked shots and five fouls in 11 minutes.
"We pride ourselves on containing the paint," guard Sam Cassell said. "Like I told the fellows, in playoff basketball, sometimes it's best to lose that way. Now you know your whole mind frame has to be evaluated differently. We understand why we lost the game. That burning edge we had, you'll see it Tuesday."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Wells covers the Timberwolves and the NBA. He can be reached at mwells@pioneerpress.com.
