[外電] For Wolves, it's over
http://www.twincities.com/timberwolves/ci_5637898?nclick_check=1
Randy Foye said it best.
Told that the Timberwolves were mathematically eliminated from playoff
contention on Monday night, Foye said: "We should have reflected from Day 1.
There ain't no time to look back."
The Wolves reacted to the reality that the playoff race is over without
surprise. They had known it was coming for weeks.
The end formally came late Monday night when the Golden State Warriors
defeated the Utah Jazz in Oakland, Calif. The Warriors slipped past the Los
Angeles Clippers by percentage points for the Western Conference's No. 8
playoff seed.
Golden State (38-40) has more victories than the Wolves (32-45) could manage
if they win thier five remaining games.
"They're doing it and we're not," Foye said. "That's the biggest thing.
They're making it happen. They've got the chemistry, and we don't right now.
We're officially out of it now, but we just have to keep preparing and
getting better."
The Wolves haven't had chemistry all season. Their indignities included
suffering through an 11-game losing streak on the road. Now they've lost five
in a row at home, their longest such drought since March 2002.
The Wolves can blame only themselves for not taking control of the No. 8
playoff seed, which has been up for grabs for weeks, with no team in the West
gaining a firm upper hand. The Warriors have just six more victories than the
Wolves, but that's the difference between a disappointing season and a path
to the playoffs.
"Sure, it hurts," Minnesota coach Randy Wittman said. "Games that you throw away or
don't come to play in, you can't get those back."
There were plenty of close games. But forward Mark Madsen remembered a few
games in particular - three losses by a total of seven points in January
following a coaching change.
"It's a time of frustration," Madsen said. "We were right there within
playoff striking distance most of the season, and then we lost some close
games, and we weren't able to recover. Unfortunately we're in the same
position we were last season, stuck at home watching the playoffs instead of
playing in them."
After the Wolves fired coach Dwane Casey and replaced him with Wittman, the
Wolves lost games at Portland (in overtime) and Seattle by five points
combined. Then after bouncing back to beat the Clippers and the Phoenix Suns,
they stumbled again with a two-point loss to Sacramento that started a
four-game slump.
Madsen said the players must hold themselves accountable.
"At this point we have to use our frustration and the fact that we're upset
about (missing the playoffs) and turn that into, 'What can I do better?' "
Madsen said. "How can I improve myself to help the team next year?"
Said guard Trenton Hassell: "It was a long roller-coaster ride, up and down.
We had some good times, we had some bad times. We just have to finish up
strong the best we can."
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