Wolves/Kings matchups & other info

[Big Daddy]

Posted on Tue, May. 04, 2004





Wolves - Kings matchups


POINT GUARD

Both have playoff experience. The Wolves' Sam Cassell won two NBA championship rings with Houston; Sacramento's Mike Bibby has gone deep with the Kings the past four seasons. But both are without their backups ? the Wolves' Troy Hudson is out the rest of the season with an ankle injury, and the Kings' Bobby Jackson is out with an abdominal strain. Cassell, 34, isn't a kid anymore, and his stamina may be in question, but his 92 postseason games give him the edge.

Edge: Wolves

SHOOTING GUARD

Neither Trenton Hassell nor Doug Christie will beat a team with his offense, but each is an exceptional defender. Christie was selected to the All-Defensive second team. Hassell didn't make the first or second team, but many believe he should have been chosen for one of them. Christie is a strong-minded player up to the task of trying to slow Cassell. Hassell's job will be to make sure Peja Stojakovic doesn't get good looks from the perimeter.

Edge: Kings

SMALL FORWARD

Stojakovic against Latrell Sprewell. Stojakovic is known for his shooting, but it was his defense that helped the Kings earn a split in Dallas. He averaged 18 points and eight rebounds in the first round. Sprewell had a good first round, too. The third member of the Big Three averaged 19.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.2 blocks. The Wolves get the edge because Sprewell can offset a bad shooting night by doing other things on the court.

Edge: Wolves

POWER FORWARD

In past years this matchup might have been closer, but Garnett is the league's MVP and the Kings' Chris Webber played only 23 games this season because of a knee injury and suspension. Webber's just finding his groove, while Garnett has been playing at an exceptional level all season. No offense: Garnett wins this category against every other power forward in the NBA.

Edge: Wolves

CENTER

Ervin Johnson and Vlade Divac are nearing the ends of their careers. Johnson is in the starting lineup because Michael Olowokandi didn't fit well with Garnett, Sprewell and Cassell. Divac is probably a better player off the bench. Johnson is the better defensive player; Divac's best defensive move is the flop in the lane. But when Divac's in the game, the Kings often run their offense through him.

Edge: Kings

BENCH

Brad Miller gives the Kings the advantage in this category all by himself. He's an all-star who plays on both ends of the court, and he scored a career-high 35 points against the Wolves in December. The Wolves don't have a player off the bench capable of coming in a game and dominating, especially with Wally Szczerbiak's back injury likely to keep him out of this series. Olowokandi has been inconsistent, and Fred Hoiberg is a role player ? a shooter who plays good defense. The Kings also bring former Wolves guard Anthony Peeler, a three-point shooting threat, off the bench.

Edge: Kings

INTANGIBLES

The Wolves have the better players, but the Kings have had their core group together for several seasons ? and they're on a mission because that core might not be together much longer. The Wolves are entering foreign territory, the second round of the playoffs, but they have home-court advantage, and the Kings were just 21-20 away from raucous Arco Arena.

Edge: Even

COACHING

Wolves coach Flip Saunders is getting his first taste of the second round, but this is a yearly occurrence for Sacramento's Rick Adelman. The Kings are in the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season under Adelman, and he led Portland to two NBA Finals appearances. Both coaches have kept their teams near the top of their divisions all season despite losing key players.

Edge: Kings

Prediction: Kings, 4 games to 2


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? Mike Wells

 

[Big Daddy]

Posted on Tue, May. 04, 2004





'Destination Finals'

BY MIKE WELLS

Pioneer Press


Ervin Johnson sat on one side of the locker room answering questions. Directly across from him was Sam Cassell, customarily chatting with a flock of reporters surrounding him.

As they talked Friday about the Timberwolves' series-clinching victory over Denver, neither acted surprised or overwhelmed by the fact their team had just advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in its 15-year existence.

Cocky? No.

Confident? Yes.

"You're supposed to win the first round," Cassell said. "That's just the first stepping stone. Don't get overzealous. This is when the playoffs really start, right here. The second round presents some challenges, but I think we're supposed to win this round, too."

After playing 82 regular-season and five playoff games, the question that came up even before they began preseason practice at St. John's University campus in Collegeville, Minn., finally has been answered.

Yes, the Wolves can get out of the first round of the playoffs.

Now comes a new question for the Western Conference's top-seeded team: How far can it advance in the playoffs?

"We're hungry," said NBA most valuable player Kevin Garnett. "We're in a situation where we put ourselves in the position to do some very good things. We're confident. The focus is bigger than the making the playoffs, the focus is bigger than just getting out of the first round. The focus has always been, 'Destination Finals.' Nothing less than that."

That's the real reason the Wolves revamped their roster during the offseason. Players have been wearing a T-shirt with "Destination Finals" on the front. The next step begins tonight at the Target Center against Sacramento in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

The Wolves enter the series with some glaring question marks and a chip on their shoulders. The Wolves have six players who had advanced past the first round before this season. But this is foreign territory for them as a unit. The Kings, who lost the Pacific Division on the last night of the regular season, have had their core group of players together for several seasons.

Scoring points is going to be a given in this series, but the Wolves have to worry if the 34-year-old Cassell, who is also battling a ruptured eardrum, can hold up over a seven-game series.

The Wolves won nine consecutive games at the end of the season to beat the Lakers, Spurs and Kings for the top seed in the West, but there seems to be a lack of respect for the Midwest Division champions.

"The so-called experts are saying the team that wins the San Antonio-Lakers series is going to the NBA championship," Wolves guard Fred Hoiberg said. "We take exception with that. We feel we're there. Sacramento feels they're right there. They were the No. 1 seed going into the final week of the season. The home-court advantage is strong in the playoffs. If we win all of our home games, we're going to be in the finals."

The Wolves beat the Kings three of four times during the regular season, but many of the players dismissed that because it's now the playoffs, and four players in Sacramento's starting five have been on the teams that reached at least the second round in the past four seasons. The Kings were within a game of making the finals two seasons ago.

"Those guys obviously have played with each other a long time," Garnett said about Chris Webber, Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic, Doug Christie and Vlade Divac. "But we've matured and jelled fast. I think we've created a sense of continuity here more quickly than most teams could have. We've got a great thing going here. The only reason you're able to jell is if you want to jell."

The Wolves hope to offset Sacramento's experience by having their Big Three ? Garnett, Sprewell and Cassell ? on the court as much as possible. They were the highest scoring trio in the league while starting 81 of 82 regular-season games. They combined to score 96 of 112 points in a Dec. 5 victory at Sacramento.

"It can't compare," Saunders said. "Those guys know what Bibby wants to do in crunch situations because they've played together for so long. That is the one major thing that helps them. That's a plus that they have as a veteran team."

Even with the home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, the Wolves will be expected to win at least a game on the road each series to advance, according to Saunders. The Wolves were the only team in the league to beat Sacramento twice at Arco Arena this season.

What likely will determine the Wolves' fate is defense. The Kings push the tempo and run a motion offense to free the lane for easy layups. Sacramento finished second in the league in scoring at 102.8 points a game during the regular season and shot 41.2 percent from the field in its four meetings with the Wolves.

"With them, you can't give up jump shots and layups," Wolves vice president of operations Kevin McHale said. "You know what? It's a lot easier to take away layups. They're going to make shots. You can't give up layups and you can't give up second shots. You have to get your rear end back (on defense). With all their cutting, you have to push them away from the basket."

Garnett has said teams have to pick their poison when it comes to slowing down the Big Three, but so do teams defending the Kings. Sacramento likes to get out and run, and it can also get into a half-court set and run its offense with some of the best passing big men in the league in Divac and Webber. When the Kings aren't cutting through the lane for layups, Stojakovic, one of the game's best three-point shooters, is on the perimeter knocking down jumpers. The Kings were held under 80 points just twice all season, with the Wolves doing it once.

One of the more intriguing matchups is going to be Christie on Cassell. Unlike Denver's Andre Miller, who isn't known for his defense, Christie is expected to pressure Cassell the full length of the court. Christie also is four inches taller. Opposing teams started putting taller defenders on Cassell later in the season, but he did score 29 points against the Kings last month with Christie defending him most of the game.

Cassell's stamina could become a question if a lot of points are scored and the series goes seven games. Both teams are without their backup point guards. The Wolves will resort to using Garnett at the point to help alleviate the pressure on Cassell if third-stringer Darrick Martin struggles.

"This is where not having Wally (Szczerbiak) and Troy (Hudson) could hurt the Timberwolves," ESPN analyst Greg Anthony said. "Sam has the ability to score and get other guys involved, but it's going to be up to those guys to knock down the shot when he feeds it to them.

"What this series is going to come down to is if the Wolves slow the Kings' offense. If they do that, they'll be fine because they shouldn't have a problem scoring and they should dominate on the rebounding end."


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

 

[Big Daddy]

Posted on Tue, May. 04, 2004





Divac: Back in the game

Associated Press


SACRAMENTO, Calif - - For a player so integral to the Sacramento Kings' success over the past six seasons, Vlade Divac had an unusual role in the first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks. He was often a bystander.

Divac averaged less than 15 minutes a game, and played only a total of 15 minutes during the final two games of the series. In the fifth game of the Kings' 4-1 series victory, Divac left after only four minutes and never returned.

"It was the decision coach (Rick Adelman) made," Divac said after Sacramento's 119-118 victory. "And he was right. Whatever it takes to win the series."

But Divac already has been put on alert for the upcoming best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal against Minnesota: Be ready to play when the Timberwolves host the opener tonight.

"My concern is Vlade getting the rhythm back in his game," Adelman said.

Against Wolves centers Ervin Johnson and Michael Olowokandi, the Kings are hoping Divac provides his usual presence, which includes solid defense, rebounding, occasional low-post scoring and some passes with radar efficiency.

His contributions were slim against Dallas. For the series, Divac averaged 5.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and less than one assist per game, atypical numbers for one of the NBA's best passing centers.

"I was hoping to have my usual game on offense, and that would give (Dallas) matchup problems," Divac said. "It didn't happen. I wasn't effective on offense."

Because Dallas played a small lineup throughout the series and was going with Antoine Walker at center, Divac was a mismatch defensively. Guarding either Walker or Dirk Nowitzki on the perimeter was not something Divac could handle.

"It's really, really difficult to play your big guys against Dallas," Adelman said. "And Nowitzki is a little bit of a handful. This series will be different."

Divac delivered big time in this year's first of four meetings against the Wolves, producing 19 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists in Sacramento's 125-121 victory in Minnesota. His impact was much less in the other three games, all Minnesota victories.

Divac wasn't the only Kings star to spend time on the bench in the final game of the Dallas series.

Chris Webber sat out the entire second quarter, when the Kings outscored the Mavericks 39-29 to overcome a 13-point deficit.

Webber said at Saturday's practice that too much has been made of his benching.

"I don't know why he pulled me out," Webber said of Adelman. "I don't care; he's the coach."

Webber's minutes may be reduced somewhat against Minnesota. Injured Brad Miller has returned to form, and Webber also believes Divac needs more playing time than in the previous series.

"Some days Brad brings more than Vlade, but we can't win (this series) without Vlade," Webber said.

 

[Big Daddy]

Getting to the point: While Sacramento likely will send the bigger Doug Christie at Cassell to disrupt the point guard's rhythm, Wolves coach Flip Saunders doesn't expect to alter his defensive matchups to throw off red-hot Kings point guard Mike Bibby.

"By going bigger, what we're doing is taking away our best defender (Trenton Hassell) from guarding the second-leading scorer in the league (Peja Stojakovic), which we're not going to do," Saunders said. "And we don't want to put Sam matched up too much with Christie, because Christie's going to be around the bucket a lot, and we aren't going to be able to get out and run our breaks. We'll probably stay matched up the way we are."

 

[THE ONLY ONE]

Thanks for posting BD

 

[Big Daddy]

Glad to do it. Hope it helps.