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• The Three-Pointer: Expressway to Apathy

_{Photo copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Steve Yeater/NBAE via Getty Images)}

Game #7, Road Game #4: Golden State 113, Minnesota 100 in OT

Season record: 1-6

1. Knowing How To Lose

Well, that certainly was a psychologically crippling contest for this already reeling Wolves franchise to absorb--and inwardly encourage, with their corrosive blend of inexperience, self-doubt and thus self-fulfilling incompetence. Up by 9 points with 4:30 to play, the Wolves allowed a Warrior ballclub missing three starters (Monta Ellis, Al Harrington and Corey Maggette) to come back and tie it in regulation, then go on to win in overtime. 

You want reasons, there are plenty of reasons and they are fairly easy to identify. Most blatantly, the Wolves couldn't score, getting seven points the final 12:06 of the game, a period's worth of offensive ineptitude that encompassed the last 7:06 of regulation and the five-minute overtime. They missed 14 of their last 15 shots. Not coincidentally, the only player on the floor during that time who truly wanted to step up and be the crunchtime go-to guy, Al Jefferson, couldn't get touches, let alone a good look at the hoop. That's right, after going 11-19 FG in the first 41 minutes of the game, Jefferson was 0-0 FG in the final 12.

It is no fun to kick a man when he's down, but the hard truth is that the substitution patterns of Coach Randy Wittman played a significant, probably decisive, role in this defeat. The game turned when the Warriors went to a zone defense midway through the fourth period, denying Jefferson the rock, deterring penetration and daring the Wolves, who had trouble shooting the trey most of the night, to beat them from outside. There are those who will say that Witt should have responded by putting in Bassy Telfair for Randy Foye, when it became clear Foye lacked the point guard skills to get the ball to Jefferson or otherwise set people up with feeds that fostered their natural athletic rhythm and took their thoughts of choking out of the equation. I'll agree with this to some degree--after all, Foye wound up playing the final 26:25 without a break. But after a brutal start to the season, Foye had finally found his vintage game during the third quarter, and was playing inspired ball at both ends of the court. I understand Witt trying to ride that for both the short and long term. Besides, no matter how good Bassy's handle and court vision are, he is a career 39% shooter who'd gone 2-8 FG Saturday against Portland and was 0-5 FG in this game--not exactly a zone-buster. By contrast, after a slow first half (1-5 FG), Foye had 4 buckets (in 8 attempts) 4 dimes and two steals while going a plus +17 in the final 9:25 of the third to turn the game around in Minnesota's favor, then began the 4th by dropping three more dimes in the first 3 minutes of the period. As I say, I probably would have gone to Bassy at least to give Foye a blow and see if the change of pace helped against the zone. But there are decent justification for staying with Foye--not least because one of the abiding questions this season is whether or not he can ever be an effective point guard.

No, where Wittman fell down on the job was in leaving Kevin Love on the bench for the entire fourth quarter and overtime. It was inexplicable and had me swearing at the television set with a fervor normally reserved for stupid commercials and politicians.

Consider that Love was plus +10 in 26:28, second only to Corey Brewer's plus +11 among all players on the court (and Brewer didn't get any 4Q or OT burn either). He picked up two quick fouls that sent him to the bench with the Wolves up 8-2 just 2:28 into the game. He played the entire third period when the Wolves were rolling up a season-high 37 points. But most importantly, Love was simply a much better fit for the circumstances than Craig Smith, the man who replaced him for the 4th quarter. Smith has historically not teamed up well with Jefferson, and lacks the range to either pull the zone away from Jefferson in the low block or stick the jumper. Love has worked well with Jefferson and has a midrange that requires coverage. He's also a much better passer than Smith, which would have been a big help to Foye. But most of all, Love is a far superior rebounder than Smith at both ends of the court. How crucial is that? Well, Golden State outrebounded the Wolves *16-3* in that 4th quarter, while primarily playing two bigs, Biedrins and Turiaf.

Smith did not play badly. He had two of the team's 3 boards in the 4th, had two assists early in the period, and took a charge that was vital in keeping the Wolves close in the final minutes of regulation. But he was way too strong on a layup the Wolves needed in crunchtime, had a rebound go off his foot to lose a possession and, most maddening, had Biedrins reach over him for an offensive rebound that led to second-chance points for the Warriors that the Wolves couldn't afford to yield.

With the Wolves down two 61 seconds into overtime, Witt finally sent Smith to the pine--and brought in Mike Miller to play alongside Jefferson, Gomes, McCants and Foye. That was the real head-slapper. Miller probably should have been in the game, but for Shaddy McCants, who yet again demonstrated that he cannot hit shots in the clutch. (On the other hand, judging from his strange crunchtime play tonight, Miller simply doesn't shoot.) By going small, Witt not only left Love on the sidelines, but turned Gomes into a power forwad, effectively taking him off Stephen Jackson. 

Perhaps the coach has a problems with his short-term memory. Jackson had been killing the Wolves all night when Wittman came up with a novel idea that had Jim Petersen, me, and most every other person who has been watching this team this year jumping for joy--he went with a big front line of Jefferson, Love and Gomes, sticking Gomes on Jackson with 4:58 to play in the third and the Wolves, fueled by two Foye steals for baskets, down just two, 73-71.  Freed from the chains of the power forward position to which he'd been shackled for most of the past year-plus of dreaded Wolves Smallball, Gomes went nuts, blitzing Jackson at both ends of the court. At the time Gomes entered the game, Jackson had played 30:02 and scored 20 points (8-13 FG, 1-3 3pt, 3-4 FT) with 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers. In the 16:58 from the time Gomes entered until the end of regulation, Jackson scored 4 points (1-3 FG, 0-1 3pt, 2-2 FT) with zero assists, 1 steal, and two turnovers. Meanwhile, Gomes had 14 points (6-10 FG, 1-2 3pt, 1-2 FT) with 4 rebounds (to Jackson's 1 during that time), 2 turnovers and a steal.

Hey, maybe a large lineup that has Gomes at the small forward slot might come in handy sometimes. But apparently not down by 2 in overtime with a well-rested Kevin Love on the bench. Instead, Miller subbed in for Rhino, Gomes, probably a bit spent from playing 17 straight minutes (most of them guarding Jackson), moved to power forward, and McCants now guarded Jackson. A couple minutes after the substitution was made, Jackson hit a back-breaking trey, putting Golden State up by 5 with 2:16 to play. The way the Wolves' offense was going, it was an unsurmountable margin.

2. Showing the Strain

For the second Three-Pointer in a row, Jefferson's words from Media Day are coming back to haunt him. This time it is his claim that he wasn't going to berate his teammates for not getting him the ball; that he was going to become more of a leader, encouraging his troops both in the locker room and on the court. But after Golden State effectively deployed that zone and Foye had a lazy, arching pass to Jefferson picked off, Big Al started screaming at his point guard, and continued to express his displeasure for the next couple of possessions. Finally he apologized as Golden State was shooting free throws a while later. But as Foye came to the sidelines a little after that, he got an earful from Wittman--perhaps related to what occurred with Jefferson, perhaps not.

A nonstop diet of defeats (6 and counting this year now) clearly has a lot to do with this, but it must be said that mentally and emotionally, the Wolves are a very callow, unreliable outfit. After months of implying that playing the point was no big deal, comparing himself to Steve Nash, and in general talking up his command of a difficult position that he hasn't played very much or very well, Foye has been exposed for false bravado. Usually this is a sign of deep-seated anxiety that someone is trying too hard, verbally and physically, to overcome. That's why I have some empathy for Wittman's decision to go with Foye throughout the second half and overtime. But if the alpha player and the coach both lambaste Foye when he makes a mistake stupid enough to be obvious to all (and thus especially to him) it just puts a little elbow grease into the churn of a vicious cycle.

Then there is the odds-on candidate for veteran leader, Mike Miller. Can someone explain why this notorious marksman, ballyhooed in the opening television segment for all the scoring success he's had against Golden State, refused to spot up and shoot the damn ball as the Wolves were collectively wrapping the hands around their throats down the stretch? Blame Wittman for deploying Miller less than 2 minutes in the 4th, making his 0-1 FG (it was a trey attempt) understandable. But no shots in 3:58 of overtime, when it was glaringly apparent that Foye and McCants had no confidence and were looking for others to step up, and that Jefferson wasn't going to touch the ball without a couple of Warriors sustaining mortal wounds. You ostensibly have acquired Miller for just this purpose, to squeeze the trigger and make the opposition respect the long-range game, perhaps peel a player away from Jefferson in the zone. At the very least, instead of making a big to-do about jumping into a perimeter weave with the enthusiasm of a drunken square-dancer, Miller should have glanced at that orange circle with the twine draping and seen if just maybe he could have tossed that orange ball through it.

At least one try. He's Mike Miller. The ball might have gone in. Instead, as McCants went 5-17 FG and Foye 7-19 FG against free-wheeling and depleted Golden State, Miller remained stubornly stuck on 4-9 FG from the third period on, finishing with over 31 minutes played.

3. Silver Linings

Aside from his temper tantrum, which was ill-advised but not without cause, Jefferson had a great game, willing himself through a nasty ankle turn that had him grimacing and limping for a long stretch of the third period to register 25 points and 12 rebounds. More significantly, he played very good defense, not only blocking four shots, but fouling a penetrator who had gotten past a gambling Love and showing harder than usual on the pick and roll.

Corey Brewer thrives on chaos and Golden State is usually a chaos factory. The most improved aspect of his game--effective, purposeful passing--was again on display via three assists. Then there was the signature Brewer gambit of hounding a young opponent having trouble corralling a rebound off the free throw, eventually swiping the ball and going in for a layup. While Stephen Jackson proved to be too big for Brewer to defend effectively, his effort was complete and his glue guy persona an appealing fit. Let's resist the temptation to siphon away what are already precious minutes for Brewer in the direction of Rodney Carney, who was minus -9 in 4:49.

And last but not least, Gomes at small forward.

Follow Britt's updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/brittrobson