[外電] Wolves at their worst
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/basketball/16631569.htm
Randy Wittman looked stunned. Ricky Davis shook his head at reporters and
walked out of the locker room. Kevin Garnett said the team would do some soul
searching today.
More than anything the rest of the season, the Timberwolves need to establish
an identity for something other than inconsistent play.
It's difficult to know what to expect from the Wolves, especially after a
105-77 debacle Monday night in which the Houston Rockets led by as many as 37
points.
The Wolves often play high-caliber opponents close (see Saturday night's
one-point loss at Dallas) and appear to have turned a corner, but then they
turn in putrid performances (see Monday night).
The one consistent outcome of their games recently has been losses. They have
lost 10 of their past 12 games and all three on this road trip, which began
in Oklahoma City, continued in Dallas and ended in Houston.
Wittman said after the game that he would consider all options to fix the
team, including possibly changing the starting lineup.
"We're going to see who wants to play now," Wittman said. "We're putting
ourselves up against the wall now. If I have to play five guys, I'll play
five guys 48 minutes. We've got to find who wants to play every night, not
Dallas and Phoenix — every night."
Wittman singled out the point guard play as "atrocious" in this game. Starter
Mike James responded by saying, "Somebody's got to be the scapegoat in
anything."
After pointing out his disappointment with the point guards, Wittman widened
his aim.
"This loss was the whole (darn) team," he said. "We didn't have anybody that
came out with any kind of heart or desire, after a day off (Sunday)."
Wittman's leadership doesn't make the Wolves impervious to blowouts. The
28-point loss was Minnesota's second worst of the season, close to the
29-point blowout at Phoenix on Jan. 21. The first five losses under Wittman
(2-6) were by 15 points combined, but there would be no narrow defeat this
time.
"We've got to get this thing right," Garnett said. "If we're really trying to
talk about making the playoffs, we've got to make a more valid effort.
(Playing) on the road is part of the league. We've got to win some games."
The Wolves lacked any discernable plan early, falling behind 50-30 by
halftime. They relied on jump shots and didn't seem to know what they wanted
to do from possession to possession.
"We had no direction," Wittman said about the point guards. "I didn't even
recognize what we were doing in the first half."
To open the second half, Wittman started Troy Hudson and Marko Jaric in place
of James and Ricky Davis. Hudson hadn't appeared in the Wolves' previous
seven games, dating to Jan. 22 at Utah.
Wittman was looking for a spark after his players shot 33.3 percent in the
first half and committed nine turnovers (four by Davis). Garnett said after
the game that there was more ball movement with Jaric and Hudson, but it
didn't make a noticeable difference on the scoreboard.
The Wolves never made a run in the third quarter, and eventually Davis and
James returned to the game. Minnesota went into the fourth quarter trailing
82-52.
Davis declined an interview after the game.
The Wolves didn't have success establishing much of anything against the
Rockets, including an inside game, continuing a recent trend. Despite playing
without injured Yao Ming, the Rockets outscored Minnesota 28-6 in the lane in
the first half.
The Wolves set season lows for points in the first quarter (15) and points in
the first half (30). They also attempted only 11 free throws, another sign of
their lack of aggression.
"Some nights, we come out clicking," Hudson said. "The ball is moving, the
players are playing with a lot of energy, and everything's clicking. Then
some nights, we come out and it's totally the opposite. It's one of those
things you can't tell before shootaround. You can't tell until you get out
there."
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