Wolves-Suns comments

• rex - I've never been a big fan of the "power" of draft picks at all - first off, it's a crapshoot. And when you do get a player who has work ethic and talent, you invest countless hours into their development, only to have them signed away for big dollars. But hey, an exciting new rookie can get fans energized (McCants dunk on Camby immediately springs to mind). And I don't think that excluding the younger guys will make it a weaker draft. You have to be a pretty special player (LBJ) to have any semblance of impact right away. KG, McGrady, Jermaine O'Neal, etc. all needed a few years before they had all the tools to to succeed. Martell Webster and Gerald Green aren't exactly tearing it up this year (though it seems like the Blazers and Cs are drafting to win a championship in about 2015!). I think it actually will mean a draft with more players who can make an immediate impact, forever eliminating the term "unlimited upside" from our collective memories. Or not. Finally, as for the KG speculation nonsense, the guy is loyal. More importantly for us, we have about 1,000 other things to discuss (huge trade last week, DNPs for 2 starters, etc.) and I'd rather not waste my time sifting through, "omg sweetney + thomas + 2nd round pick for kg! salerees work!!!1!" There are plenty of other places for spouting off stuff like that, but I don't want this to be one of them. Cheers!

• Can someone on this board explain to me why the Wolves would trade Griffin for Wilcox. I don't see any reason for the Wolves to make that move.

• 1.The following is from an entertaining Bill Simmons article(note the word entertaining): When the Trade happended: The Clips swung a big deal over the weekend: A sign-and-trade with Marko Jaric going to the Wolves for Sam Cassell and a protected No. 1. Since Marko wasn't a true point guard, couldn't create his own shot, and had no leadership abilities whatsoever, I never understood what he brought to the table -- he's your classic Euro who looks great on paper, but when you watch him night after night, you can't stop picking his game apart. He's also one of the five or six worst decision makers I've ever seen at the end of games, the kind of guy who leaves you shaking your head as you're walking out of the arena, saying, "How could they have the last shot and not even hit the rim?" I couldn't stand him. So bringing in Cassell in a contract year, when you desperately needed someone who could make a big shot at the end of games, seems like a fantastic move to me. Anyway, I loved this trade for the Clips. (Kudos to my main man Elgin -- I'm glad to see his cell phone is finally working.) Today's column: And did you notice that the Wolves have already given up on Marko Jaric? In case you forgot, I called this back in August after they made the Cassell trade. And no, I'm not telling you that to toot my own horn: Dig through my archives and you'll find hundreds of dumb predictions over the years. But after watching Jaric play 30-35 times in person, I knew his game well enough to state the anti-Jaric case about as emphatically as I could. I knew I was right. Which raises the question: How could the Timberwolves not know? Didn't they have scouts? And how could they underestimate Sam I Am in a contract year that badly? One of the dumbest trades of the decade. His first column accurately tabs Marko the enigma. 2)Boston since the trade: 1-6. Wally's knee: hurting real bad. 3)Finally, I advocated against a KG trade - see above. But I don't mind having the debate on an off-day. I also don't understand how this issue is even debateable, but a lot of people disagree. I say let the strong opinions fly on every topic, even though I agree with Brit's point of view and everyone's elses against trading KG. There are two reasons why we should discuss this alleged non-issue. First, I really wonder whether it is a non-issue because McHale actually is stupid enough to trade him. He's stupid enough to assist in signing Joe Smith, stupid enough to continually draft horse crap players, stupid enought to trust the point guard position to Jaric and Hudson. I'm not giving McHale that much credit as a general manager to say that KG won't be traded Second, it's entertaining. When we've all had our say on how Casey's line-up worked, how the new players fit in and how the point guard did, why not debate, solely for entertainment's sake, trading KG for Kobe Bryant. Sure I stand a better chance of landing a mid-level exception contract from McHale, but it's entertaining.

• Hear, hear. I'm old enough to have seen George Mikan play with the Lakers (both at the Minneapolis Auditorium and at the Armory, believe it or not), and Britt is the first local basketball writer I've found who really writes about the sport. Both Hang Time and Balls are essential reading, though not if the "trade garnet" numbskulls are given free rein. I say one of the requirements for posting on this site should be the ability to spell the names of the players. Now a question for you all: What is the true value of a #1 draft choice in 2006 and 2007? I haven't seen much discussion (though a fair amount of lamentation) about the two draft choices Kevin McHale has traded away. But the conventional wisdom is that the next two drafts will be weak because of the absence of 18- and 19-year-olds. So what have the Wolves actually lost? Corollary question: Assume the Wolves finish out of the playoffs and wind up with a relatively high pick in June (a dismal prospect, I admit): what's the best strategy? Keep it, or send it to the Clips (and next year's to the Celtics) so that we'll have a first-round pick in 2008 when the draft is likely to be solid gold?

• Sean-- Who I think I am is the guy who makes this site possible. You don't like me playing God, you're perfectly free to go find another church.

• Please do not feed the trolls. KG sticks with us, and we stick with him. Case closed. In addition to quashing trade rumors, I am also capable of talking about basketball. I'm not sure if they have tonight's schedule on realgm.com, but the Wolves play Cleveland. This is definitely going to be a matchup issue. First of all, I think Trenton is going to do a good job on LBJ, and that's key to tonight's win. We need to take advantage of the PG situation as well. Tonight is a night that I wouldn't mind Jaric out there - if all 6'7" of him can pester Snow into tough passes and D.Jones into bad shots, that would be a great boost. Off the bench. I don't think we will start him, but I'd throw him in for a few minutes at a time just to change the game's pace if CLE gets hot. Eddie must play tonight. Z will eat Blount for breakfast and has too many skills for a hustler like Madsen to cope with. The absence of Hughes should give either Trenton or Ricky an advantage. I don't know what Cleveland's starting lineup is, but if Donyell starts at the SF, we need to pick on him from the perimeter. Also, we've gotta keep their bigs off the glass. They can rebound at nearly every position, so everyone needs to chip in. Back to work, all of ya!

• What's "tired" are people wanting to trade Kevin Garnett "for his own good" despite the fact that he has never once even hinted that he wanted to be traded, despite nearly a decade's worth of inferences, entreaties, and know-nothing punditry. Can we please put a sock in it regarding Garnett being traded until A) Garnett himself expresses a desire to be dealt; or B) a credible source within the Wolves organization acknowledges that the subject of trading Garnett has arisen and is seriously being considered? Otherwise, even those of you who actually believe trading Garnett would somehow be good for this franchise are simply pissing in the wind. The idiot quotient on comments to this blog has been marvelously, gratifyingly low. Please don't raise it by imagining you have something to say about the "trade KG" matter that hasn't already been said somewhere else. Those who know me well know that this is as polite as I am capable of being on the subject.

• NULL "i would rather see him win a championship somewhere than see him rotten in this hole here for the rest of his career." KORZO "(I suggest dealing with Knicks and Isiah, perhaps the only GM worse at making trades than McHale, although Isiah did get a No. 1 from the Raptors) in exchange for KG, Jaric, Thud and a No. 1 (not lottery protected) at least." First of all, since when is winning an NBA by being traded to the right team, easier than trying to build around what you have where you are at. KG would not improve his chances by going to the Knicks or Toronto. If we really wanted to do him a favor, it would mean trading him to San Antonio or Detroit (maybe Miami--or team him with Kobe or King James) noe of these options are a sure thing to an NBA championship nor are they necessarily even feasible for making a trade to. Since the Twolves would want equal value in return, Each potential Team we might consider trading KG to would have to part with essential pieces for building a championship also. We would not be doing the Twolves or KG a favor by trading him.

• As for trading KG, I agree with you all, at least emotionally, that it doesn't make much sense. But the simple fact is, the Wolves are not ever going to build a championship contender with the contracts for Jaric, Thud, Madsen and now Blount weighing them down. If Wolves trade KG, it should be for a bunch of expiring contracts (I suggest dealing with Knicks and Isiah, perhaps the only GM worse at making trades than McHale, although Isiah did get a No. 1 from the Raptors) in exchange for KG, Jaric, Thud and a No. 1 (not lottery protected) at least. That way, Wolves would rid themselves of their terrible contracts and be able to start over.

• Man, Don't you guys get it, Garnet is tirer and worn out man. If you have been watching the games, you could see the expression on his face, in his games. He is stress out dude. Losing is tearing this man apart. Of course he would never demand to be trade, that is the kind of man that he is. But lets be honest here, i would rather see him win a championship somewhere than see him rotten in this hole here for the rest of his career. What makes you guys think that by adding an okay 3 or 4 options is going to turn this team into a title contender is kidding yourself. We are over the cap and have only the mid-level to use on a player. Nowadays, the mid-level players are middle of the pack or specialist player, not like a couple of years ago where you could get a good player in return. So suck up all your ego, and trade Garnet so he could win a championship somewhere, cause he sure isn't going to do it with McHale incharge and Taylor supporting him. Hating Guy

• Given that I'm on East Coast time, and that I had to be at work early this morning, and that one of my four-year olds was sick with a fever & I was on designated care-giver duty, I turned the game off in the middle of the 4th last night. I figured I'd seen this movie before and I knew how it ended (see home to SA, at Dal, at SA, @Phil, home to Phil, home to Sac, etc., etc.) Still, when I woke this morning I just couldn't help myself - I had the means (Tivo) and the motive (a fan's hope (junkie's hope?) that this time it would be better. And, whaddya know, it was. Great games from Trenton, Marcus, Rashad, Lenin & KG. Solid game from Case as well, though I hope that AC's start was a transition game between Jaric & Banks - Banks has shown enough to merit a ten-game stretch as the starting point guard, and even with Trenton's expanded offensive game it's tough to start three guys who, to be charitable, derive the majority of their value when the other team has the ball. The thing about Banks is pretty simple - if he can hit a decent percentage of his open jumpers, he's very valuable to this team. The fact that he may not be a prototypical, set-up the offense kind of point guard is probably less of a problem with the Wolves than with any other team in the league, given how much of the offense can (and should) run through KG. He does need to spend an hour a day practicing post entry passes, though... The KG-on-Nash thing was the result of a decision to switch on every perimeter pick and roll. It jives with what Case said afterwards, that they weren't going to get beat by the three, & I was surprised by Phx's inability to really take advantage. Nash obviously got his, but the 'bigs' like Diaw & Marion didn't do much when posting Banks/Carter etc. I've watched the block a bunch of times, including on super slo-mo. I'm still not sure, but if my life depended on it, I'd say the refs got it right.

• Right On CE-Erick, It will be interesting to see what Casey has in mind for Marko and Eddie tomorrow night. It will also be interesting to see how each of them respond. I am still rooting for both of them. Casey has a tough job figuring out how to get everyone minutes. AC and Maddog deserve to be in there and bringing their energy every night. I just don't think either should start and their minutes should be limited. Then trying to get minutes for Reed, McCants, Blount, and Jaric--not to mention THud--I don't envy him. The question is how to make these guys think they are being used for the benefit of the team. I am no yet ready to put all my hopes on the devlopment of Banks, Reed, Blount and Davis to compliment KG and Hassell. I think it would even be crazy! If this team is going to get back to competing with the best teams in the league and if we are going to be putting KG, The TWolves and NBA championship in the same sentence, then we need to get some development out of Jaric, Griffith and McCants too (in addition to the development of another lottery draft pick). AC and MadDog, God love them, are not the ones to get the Wolves back to the next level. The example and professionalism they bring, however, is an important element to have and for the young guys to learn from.

• I don't understand why trading KG is even a topic right now. He said he doesn't want to be traded. The owner said he won't be traded. I can't imagine anything other than a vast majority of Wolves fans being vehemently opposed to him being traded. There must be hundreds of Wolves-related topics more interesting to speculate about right now and yet this issue keeps rearing it's ugly, repetitive head ... Two starters just logged DNP-CDs yesterday and we're going back and forth on whether or not KG should be traded. I don't get it.

• Great win and one of the most entertaining games of the season. The woles showed tonight how to beat the suns by letting steve nash take it to the hole one on one and take our chances with him throwing up some circus shot. The suns have plenty of firepower in the lineup and holding nash to six assists is impressive. The biggest hole on this team remains to be rebounding and unless another move is made there isn't a lot hope for improvement outside of Justin Reed. His potential is just as important as banks' to the future of the woles.

• I would not trade Garnett. The first question is not whether you trade him, but whether you can get fair value in return. So who's fair value in return? Dwayne Wade Tim Duncan LeBron James None of those guys are going anywhere. Ever. I would have included Amare Stoudamire, but his injury is a concern. Then the next best option is a package. But for that to succeed you need to get two guys who will be the foundation for your team for the next seven years or more. This is where it gets risky. Could we build around, for example, Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace? Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom? Ben Gordon and Tyson Chandler? Brand and Magette? Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady? The list could go on and on, but we'd be left with no guarantees. The best bet is to find the best second and third options to play with Garnett, find the best defensive center you can and have great role players from there. If an aging Sam and Spree can give KG what he needs, I'd rather try my luck with obtaining the second and third options, than start over with a new star player that will never match up with KG.

• The more I think about it, the more I like Casey's starting lineup change last night. The move was all about sending a message to this team. When Case hinted that a lineup change was in the works, many people (myself included) assumed that Banks and/or Blount would be inserted as starters. But what message would that send to the team? That the current starters aren't getting it done? That it's time to shake things up? That the new guys are getting a chance to show their wares? Sure ... but that isn't a very big statement. Instead, Casey went with two unlikely starters. Guys who have worked hard in both practices and games no matter what their role, played without ego and have been ready to go no matter what. AC and Mad Dog (to my knowledge, correct me if I'm wrong) haven't whined about playing time or shown one iota of selfishness throughout their careers. They may never start another game as Timberwolves (I suppose we'll find out tomorrow night how serious Casey is about this starting lineup ...) or they might start for the rest of the season, but the message is clear: Unselfishness and hard work -- on both ends of the court and whatever your role/minutes/salary -- is what matters. Now that's a statement. Of course, this is all pure speculation on my part. Maybe Casey made this move for matchup reasons or there's a trade in the works ...

• CM, One of the reasons that I get down on McCants is his enigmatic play. He can be pretty good offensively when he seems to want to. Defensively, he's got a lot to learn and may never be that good realistically. I just have a problem with what I perceive to be his attitude. How is it that he can come off the bench, score 10 points, and then just suddenly disappear. I think it's the man more than the other teams' schemes or the situations. I see Banks and Davis at least hustling even if they make a lot of mistakes. I don't see that from McCants. He does too much standing around for my taste, stop his dribble when he should keep it alive, doesn't help out on defense. I guess the word hustle just isn't in his dictionary. But just when you're down on him he'll make a decent move to the basket and score. The guy has talent but until I see different, that's all. I was an early proponent of getting him lots of playing time to see what kind of game he had. Now that I've seen it, I think he should be used sparingly with the right lineup when we need some offense. For now, I wouldn't give him more than 10 minutes unti he earns it.

• In response to NULL, and anyone else who thinks Minny should trade Garnett. Would you really rather trade away one of the best 3 players in the NBA, THE most loyal, versatile, charismatic player in the league, just to rebuild with hopes of a title without KG no sooner than the day he retires? Personally I'd rather see KG get a standing ovation in Minneapolis and every city in the NBA during his final season and hang em up as a Timberwolf, championship ring or not, than see Minnesota MAYBE contend for a title six years from now without him. The guy's a class act, a hall of famer, and giving him away to rebuild wouldn't make the impatient fickle fans any happier and wouldn't bring success any quicker than can be acheived with him still here.

• It's me again... Glad to see McCants have a pretty good game for a rookie. Give him a chance ,and time, and the Wolves will be better in the end. He is a rookie, they have ups and downs if you don't believe me look at all the other rookies around the league. most play bad Defense and look lost. Most get called for everything. Most shoot when they shouldn't and don't shoot when they should. But give them time and if they are talented it will show. But they have to have playing time. I can understand if you are in the playoff race you can't wait on a rookie to learn the game but if you want a player give him the time early and it will pay off later. Also, I am a UNC fan and have watched McCants, Felton, May and the rest for years even in AAU. McCants main problem is that he gets down on himself during the game, and it is very visable. And his help Defense has always been shakey. Just give the rook a chance or TRADE HIM. Don't waste time talking about how bad he is or how bad the pick was. Right now you have value in him so use it or trade him. Another thing, you guys traded for Ricky Davis who was horrible his rookie year here with the Charlotte Hornets. So players can get better.

• This game makes me wish the wolves would play teams with no D every night. I like AC in the starting lineup because he knows the offense and is a true point guard. I'm sure Banks will take over eventually, but those are the two who should be seeing minutes. There is nothing more satisfying than players who play at both ends of the floor. KG and Trenton were so much fun to watch last night (come back Hoiberg). Lastly, I don't understand the DNP for EG and the start for Madsen. I know the wolves won so it must have worked (the popcorn machine seems to think so). I've always been of the opinion that Madsen shouldn't start for an NBA team unless they five or less players on the roster. I'm sure he's great for practice and he can high-five with the best of 'em, but he's not very good at basketball. EG should be playing every night. The last block of the game shows how much the wolves could have used a swatter down low with Kevin guarding out on the perimeter.

• Well, that blocked shot was cathartic wasn't it! 14 days of fustration taken out on that last play. It was nice to see Kevin get a call at the end of a game. Boy did he need that. (And David, it wasn't goaltending because it wasn't on its downward flight. For once we got the call. ) I like the AC/Banks duo on PG. Much better movement of the ball up court. If Banks can just remember to pass to KG in *every* half-court set at least once, he'll do fine. Davis is a bit worriesome. He needs to tighten up a bit. He's playing too loose and needs to be more carefull with the ball. All in all, a good (and much needed) win for the Wolves.

• I have come to the conclusion that we need to trade garnet now. This team is not going anywhere anytime soon, so we owe to to garnet and the organzation to do it. But i don't trust McHale to do it, so i hope that he would retirer and go back to his outdoor shit after this year and let someone make the deal this summer. This team is not heading anywhere and if you guys think that they will get this turn around, keep dreaming, cause this is not going to happen this year, not next year and the year after that. We need new infusion here and the only way to do it is to trade Garnet over the summer.

• levi: I too was surprised to notice the effectiveness of that group ((Madsen-(Hasell/Lenin)-McCants-Davis-Banks) despites Maddy's inability to shoot a jumper of finish near the basket. But he made a free-throw, and I love his energy on and off the bench. KG's defensive energy at the point was impressive, he had his hands up and moving and bothering Nash constantly. I like Davis's ability to take/hit big shots, but I notice him slacking on D more and more. e.g. he got stuffed going for a layup and then sat on the floor while the Suns ran back for an easy bucket. Or let Marion steal the ball from him while taking it up the floor (yes, his teammates should've let him know it was coming) and then didn't hustle to get back on D while Marion went up for an allery-oop (sp?). Re: Hassell - he rocks. When he gets a rhythm he's got a nice fluid mid-range jumper that falls pretty often (sort of like KG?).

• It was nice to see a win. I am not going to get as excited about this win as I did against Boston, since the following losses just about broke my heart and passion for the Wolves. They got this win, won a close one, good job. Now we have a stretch before the All star game that should be easier. We'll see. Couple of observations on the pessimist side. *Garnett shoots 75%, but still takes only 12 shots. Is he that unselfish or dis the point gaurds still have trouble getting him the ball. *Banks plays over 30 minutes and has only two assists at the point guard and he takes two more shots than Garnett. Fine, he shot 9-14, but can we really count on Banks being that good of a shooter in the upcoming games. Get the ball to KG. *AC doesn't play three out of the last four games and then he is called on to start. MadDog starts! WE got the win and Casey sends a message, but what is the message? Marko and Griffith don't need to be treated with kids gloves, but I still think these two have to be given a chance to become better players by getting them quality minutes. Casey has to figure out how to use them where they can be successful. AC and MAddog bring energy, but do we need this at the start of games or sometime in the second quarter? *Watching KG block that shot at the end of the game was exciting and I jumped off the couch and screamed "YEAH!", waking up the wife and boy. Replay looked like goaltending to me however. Oh well, we deserve a break.

• All I can say is I love my readers--even C.M. (sorry for the hubris the other day; you caught me at a bad time). Still haven't seen the last three-quarters of the game, as I went down to the Dakota to see saxophonist Chris Potter last night, but all of your comments have certainly whet my appetite. I'm not sure hoops junkies need my input after the quality of responses you've put in, and I might wait until Lebron and Co. come and go before posting again. Finally, as flattering as it might be to think that Coach Casey and other members of the braintrust read what I say, I'm pretty certain they have better things to do. The universal sentiment is that Casey's work ethic is phenomenal, meaning that he's probably already considered anything I come up with three or four times over. What's irritating to me is that he doesn't share his thought process, even obliquely, the way many coaches do. That's obviously his prerogative, but eliminates my ability to present his side of the argument when second-guessing.

• So much to say about this game, and folks already have... It's good to see people recognizing Trenton Hassell now - I've been a Trenton-jocker ever since he made the starting lineup. And folks, let me tell you that I thought this was one of the worst games I've ever seen him play - but his offensive moves are looking smoother and more confident every game. I noticed it during the game, then checked on the popcorn site (yes Erick that was me): The KG-less formation of Madsen-(Hasell/Reed)-McCants-Davis-Banks was incredibly productive, totalling +11 in two stints comprising about 4 1/2 minutes.

• KG playing Nash on defense confused him somewhat. Yeah he could get by KG and did and got some layups but that took away the dish out for the 3. Then on the last play, KG switched back off of Nash and was there for that last second block. (Was it legit ? Maybe not, but for once the Wolves caught a break.) Nash was then forced to make a pass he probably didn't want to. I think Casey hit a homerun with that switch late in the game. As far as KG's game, he had played an uncharacteristically bad 3rd quarter (0 points, 3 turnovers), but his turnaround in the fourth was pretty incredible. Whether or not he is at his peak athetically (and I could really side with anyone who argues that he is on the down curve), his mental attitude never seems to falter.

• The future is Banks, Davis, Hassel and McCants. The most steady is Hassel. Banks has the most upside. Davis should be the best. McCants is the darkhorse. The Suns' coach said after the game that it was tough keeping up with these four athletes. Can this really be a Timberwolves team? Didn't McHale want basketball players, not athletes? I'd still be extremely pleased had we lost because I didn't have to watch Hudson (alba) and Marko (tross) play. Imagine cashing these guys in for the salary cap room. It's amazing to me to watch a player like Troy lose a step due to injury, lose a little confidence because he lost a step and no longer be a factor. Remember the Troy who played the Lakers in the playoffs. Remember the Troy who KG singled out as a must sign after our Western Conference Finals run? He sure would fit in nice with Banks, Davis, Hassel and McCants. One last Marko comment - I like Marko as a basketball player. He's intelligent, fairly athletic and a solid player. But he's no point guard. Never will be. Never. His value is as a back-up at the 2 and 3 and another ball handler on the floor. Casey must switch his position if for no other reason than to play Carter and Banks at the point for the entire game.

• KG's block at the end looked clean in real time, and just as clean on reply. It should not even be mentioned as a near goaltend by the press, but rather mention that the Suns complained for a goaltend. Remember Amare blocking Brad Miller's shot at the buzzer last year?.. what goes around comes around, I guess. In any case, it was a clean block. The Wolves won in Phoenix last year, but it didn't mean squat. Hopefully they can build some momentum from this win and make a push for .500 by All Star time.

• I was only able to catch the last 8 minutes of the game, but I found it interesting who played the closing minutes: Banks, Rashad, Davis, Trenton and KG ... and w/ KG defending the point (!) most of the time. It worked, but I'm still not sure how. Any other team would have repeatedly fed the ball into a C/PF in the post, forcing Casey to go bigger. I can only assume KG was covering Nash in order to keep from getting forced to foul out in post defense. The Wolves really dodged a bullet in that Nash could get by KG anytime he wanted, but still didn't get many easy looks for himself or teammates ... As for the altered starting lineup and Eddie's DNP, I wonder if Casey was making a statement about work ethic and practice habits. But then why would Rashad play 29 minutes, including the last 16 minutes of the game (thank you, by the way, to whomever it was who posted the link to Popcorn Machine!)? I don't know. Great win, but I find it disconcerting that EG didn't play.

• I hate to harp on well-worn themes, and it's hard to argue with a win in Phoenix, but three things stand out about the game for me. One, Phoenix really gave the game away. There were a couple stretches of time in the 3rd and 4th where Phoenix maintained a lead of 5-7 points and the Wolves went a few possessions without scoring. Garnett lobbed a couple of cross-court skip passes for turnovers and then picked up his 4th foul. Phoenix certainly could have been clinical and finished them off right there but instead got sloppy and launched a couple of early shot-clock 3-pointers, and had a couple of turnovers themselves. I agree with PW re: the Suns playoff destiny - they are not a championship team. Two, when Phoenix decided that they were going to buckle down and win the game, Trenton Hassel stopped them more or less single-handedly. With the Wolves up 90-89, he flew around the court, pressuring Bell, corralling rebounds, giving weak-side help (hullo everyone else - help defense is where the guy playing on-the-ball D forces his man in the direction of his teammates who then "help" defend, you might want to try it...), and picking out Kevin's eyes for his spin away alley-oop. His line was fantastic and still didn't do his game justice. When the geniuses at 45 went to a single-camera tracking shot for a couple of possessions late in the 4th (bwuh?) I found myself just watching Hassel and he was brilliant. I'm completely sold on this guy. Three, while I agree it was time to shake things up, and Mad-Dog and AC were the right guys to shake with, what does it say about your GM when almost $22M in salaries in 2009-1010 combined for 2 DNP's and Blount's 7 minutes of out-of-control matador defense? Three possessions he ran like a crazy person at a perimeter player. Twice he got driven by for layups (one fortunately was missed) and the other time he fouled a 3-point shooter? Failing a miracle trade, these guys are here for a while so I hope that the benching will be used as a motivational tool, not a game-plan going forward. Someone a while back commented on the practice routine and wondered aloud what they were working on if they weren't working on boxing out. Evidence from last night would suggest that it wasn't closing down under control, help-side defense, or spacing to create passing lanes either. Still, I watched a Wolves game until the final buzzer and was rewarded with a gritty effort that sent me to bed with a smile. It's been a while.

• Well, it was fun to play a team that doesn't care about playing defense, or packing the inside. Unfortunately, the Suns are the exception in this league. It was great to see Banks shoot the ball well again. I suspect we live or die with that down the stretch. (He was the only Wolf with a double-digit plus/minus in this tilt - plus-16 mirroring AC's minus-14). My man Black Lenin had 5 boards in 11 minutes - he was also helped by the Suns' chosen game flow. Despite also getting 5 points in 11 minutes he confirmed that he is the worst Wolves finisher since Sam Mitchell. Still, I love his gumption. He's the kind of raw player you get excited about. Trenton: 3 boards short of a triple double in the wide-open spaces. Gotta love it. Bigger "help value" than even KG. Note to opponents: fouling KG is not-bad strategy down the stretch. Love to see his "late and close" free-throw percentage - I'm guessing it's about 50 percent. Both teams had more turnovers than assists. And oh yeah, it was goaltending (I thought KG actually waited to swat it), but I'll take a bit of Steelers fan today.

• Garnett's status as player closely parallels that final shot; at first glance, it's hard to tell whether it's at the apex, or slightly descending. Nonetheless, it was a badly needed win. The Suns took the Pups pretty lightly; Phoenix is playoff, not championship material. I don't there's any way KG gets a late dunk against the Pistons or Spurs, but it was nice to see him: 1)get the ball in his hands and 2)do something with it. For at least a week or two, let's settle on the two PG's, Carter and Banks. They should be interchangable between starting and backup. Peter May of the Boston Globe thinks Banks isn't a true point guard. Maybe all this guy needs is some Larry Brown type coaching, because all the tools are there, at least on offense. Carter is stable and feisty; he wouldn't be playing late game minutes for me, but his professionalism needs to rub off on the younger lads on the team. Then there's C.M.'s favorite, McCants. It could be I don't know much about NBA basketball, but wing movement or not, he can play when he wants. Which again is the problem for all the young players on this team. Other than that last 18-20 foot fadeway shot, he seemed under control offensively, and he was at least not moribund on defense. Clearly a head case though, which is going to be an ongoing problem. While I wouldn't get too hopeful with this club, you can see the athletes are there. Focus, consistency, chemistry and strategy are going to be key pieces of the puzzle in the next few weeks. I personally would anchor the PG's as mentioned, keep Davis, KG and Hassell for now in the line up, and work in a center, and find a second team rotation, which includes Reed and McCants. I think a decent core is findable; I just don't know if these guys can be consistent enough to develop into a truly contending team. It's certainly enough to keep watching.

• The sight of KG elevating to block that shot at the very end, from Marion was a sight for this old wolves fans eyes. The shot was from the other end of the floor, and really gave a wonderful view of just how high KG got up to block this shot. It was a moment for everyone that admires Garnett, and a poster moment. Thank you KG, that was a keeper memory. Banks seemed to step up for the starters role. He played quick, agressive, but very controlled. He also hit a few threes. It was good. Also using AC in tandem helped defensively I think. Seems like Casey either took your earlier blog to heart Britt, or was thinking along the same lines. I am not convinced that Blount is significantly better that Griffin. He really is hideous not blocking out, or even preparing for the possibility of a rebound when the ball goes up. It seems the bad press from Boston had a lot of merit. For help on the boards, I don't think he even comes close to Griffin. The only fly in the ointment was Ricky Davis. He had a few really egregious turnovers, and he's turned away by blocks at the edge of the rim. Just like the Portland game. I'm not ready to ask for Wally back, but defensively, and taking care of the ball, at least in this game, Davis didn't appear to be much of an upgrade. Trenton Hassle was terrific offensively, his hitch and hang in the air shots were tremendous. I wonder if he was especially inspired by playing his High School teammate Marion? A few of the times he took it straight to the Matrix. One of the staggering stats that Jim Peterson mentioned during the broadcast was that Raja Bell had more 3 point shots in the past 5 games than any wolf, for this entire season. Can that be true? Uffta. McCants was performing well, seemed to be more of a plus than a negative. He had a nice stroke from outside. 2-2 from 3 point. I swear he was clapping his hands near the lane during someone elses free throw shots, imploring his teammates to play defense. That struck me as particularily ironic, and cheeky, but then what the hell, maybe he was getting himself hopped. WHATEVER WORKS! He certainly appeared to belong in the NBA tonight, and I think that's about the 3rd time I thought so this year, so maybe the young man is getting it. Hurrah if he is. Maybe Hoiberg could work with him on his 3's, the way Mullins did with him in his Pacer years. Casey is all about basketball legacy, that would be a good one.

• talk about a shot in the arm -- let this game serve as a plea for patience. * trenton hassell: ultimate playmaker? 3rd scorer-- with 10 assists? trenton's just getting better and better. facilitating some serious balance. * banks, davis and hassell looked fantastic at times and ridiculously lucky at others. the future? * the mccants sighting was nice, but makes me want to shut up and wait until after the next game to dole out anything resembling praise. jumpers (except the last one) looked good, though. i don't wanna hear anything, unc guy... * whenever the woles play teams like phoenix (without bruisers on the front line), kg can play like olajuwan and make blocks like the one to save/win the game. * jaric and griffin get the dnp and a pending trade (my first thought) ... was this just to spite the brit suggestions in the previous post/tirade? * blount looked ridiculous and so did the officials [charge on mccants, foul/block by banks, trenton getting repeatedly bludgeoned, phantom make-up calls, the game winning block(?!)] * d'antoni has always seemed like a smug, knowitall, rubyournoseinit jerk. jim pete made the comparisson to danny ainge with the perpetual whining. i want him to catch a pass with his nose every time he communicates displeasure -- how do lenin or casey get a tech before he does in this game? * thud/jaric/1st rounder to NY for two cases of grain belt.

• Huge, huge win for the struggling Twolves tonight. This was a much needed shot in the arm after the embarrassment against Golden State Saturday. KG took over the game at the end, not only scoring key buckets and that monster last block, but what I thought was more impressive was his defense on Nash in the last 5 minutes. He proved once again what a great all around team player he is. This should erase any doubts from those in the national media who don't think he belongs to be in the All-Star game this year. It would be a travesty if he didn't play in Houston. This win also marks the end of what was a brutal 7 of 8 road stretch. I expect the Wolves to pick up momentum with a nice 10 of 12 homestand, including what I'm sure will be a much anticipated rematch against the Warriors March 16.

• Oh. Hellz. Yeah. Okay, a few quick points which will likely have already been made by the time I post this, but here goes nonetheless: True point guards make all the difference in the world. The difference in energy when AC and Banks are on the court is immeasurable. You can't judge a team by one game, but does anyone think we'd have had a chance tonight if Troy and Marko had been getting minutes? And how much deeper into the doghouse are those two going to get pushed? Banks had another stellar game, but it's still too early to expect him to produce like this on a nightly basis. Trenton - always bringing passion. Waiting until the time is right to take advantage of the mismatch (Barbosa). Never forcing it against a guy he can't handle (Bell or Diaw). 10 assists. AND had a sweet block (errr, foul) against Marion. Rashad also showed why we still bother talking about him. He did well picking and choosing when to attack, but also remained lackadaisical on D - I can remember him leaving his man open in the corner during a crucial point, and Diaw knocked down the three. I'll give him some credit - his D has come a long way since the beginning of the season. Continued improvement will definitely mean more minutes, especially with the way Troy and Marko have been playing. As Britt mentioned earlier (I think - I'm not one for rehashing ancient history), I'd also like to see Marko in a limited six-man role off the bench, but only in certain situations. Tonight was obviously not one of those situations. Jaric has to be a matchup guy. He's shown that he's not too adept at taking on the quick PGs, and I don't really trust him against the athletic SFs, either. Let him guard the swingman who is the smallest offensive threat, and keep Marko on a short leash, ego be damned. If his man gets hot, either switch his assignment or yank him. I'd say he can guard anyone named Bowen or Barry, Adrian Griffin, that guy on Denver who gets minutes, etc. Also, nice to see Casey chewing the ears off those refs after Britt calls him out mere days earlier, eh? AND it was nice for Case to show the balls to keep Eddie and Marko out of the game. We definitely needed a change, and it's difficult to stay away from old habits, but the new rotation worked out well. Personally, I missed the nonstop yelling of Eddie's name whenever the other team had the ball, but I'd trade that for a win anyday. I'll leave Eddie's DNP up to you guys to sort out, though I have to say that Madsen did an admirable job at the center position. However, that was just tonight, and if the Suns had Amare, all the hustle in Maddog's little heart couldn't stop him from getting 6 fouls in the first 6 minutes, and we'd HAVE to play Griffin. Also, I ALMOST turned the game off (well, not really) after Ricky's 21-footer about 1 minute into the game, which occured with about 23 seconds left on the shot clock. I have a feeling that "RD" (or whatever) is going to be a whipping boy when (not if) this team gets back on its feet and then drops a couple of games. Last thought: if anyone had told you that we'd have 24 turnovers against Phoenix and win, would you believe them?

• Finally, Jaric spent the game where he belongs, on the bench. I read everyone's earlier posts regarding Sam with interest and, as always, I defer to Britt's insights regarding Sam's poor attitude a year ago. But I submit that Sam's major problem last year was health, or lack thereof, coming, at least in part, from the Wolves' failure to diagnose his hip problem during the run to the Western Conference Finals (remember the Wolves kept saying it was back spasms). When Sam was healthy last year, he was the same old Sam he always had been (a poor defensive playing ball hog who just happens to win a lot more games for his team than he loses -- I remember, for example, the Wolves win last year in Phoenix). If the Wolves had Sam this year, I submit the Wolves would be 10 games better than they are and probably would win the NW Division.

• Yes! Yes! Yes! Finally, they win a close game. Was it a legit block? It was close and I don't care. This team needed this win. Will they actually use it to create momentum for a little winning streak? Probably not. McCants looked good but he has got to stop clapping and making that sharp noise when he is open. It reminds me of that Seinfeld episode when Kramer is trying to get DiMaggio's attention at the coffee shop. He keeps slamming his hand on the table and yelling "Yep! Yep! Yep!" Crazy

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