12/10/2009 - 15:40
Al, Wolves Can't Hold On
by
Matt Martino
With two minutes remaining in Wednesday night's game at the Target Center, Big Al Jefferson converted a free throw to put the Minnesota TimberWolves up 96-95.
But the New Orleans Hornets snatched victory away from the Wolves, with Chris Paul scoring on a backdoor uncontested layup was the difference in a 97-96 Minnesota loss.
No. 25 finished with 17 points and a season-high 16 rebounds. He also had a stellar shooting performance, converting 8-of-12 field goals.
His efficiency was contagious as Minnesota (3-19) shot 52 percent for the game thanks to Al and Kevin Love’s dominance in the paint. The two bruisers helped the Wolves to a 52-30 advantage in the paint and a 49-29 edge on the glass.
Minnesota’s prowess near the rim was negated by their 21 turnovers.
"Our offense got sloppy," coach Kurt Rambis said. "We were turning the basketball over, we stopped getting the ball inside which was so productive for us in the first half, and then everything went downhill from there."
Moving the ball inside and out led to a 16-point lead midway through the third quarter.
"That was painful," Ryan Gomes who led the Wolves with 21 points said. "I guess it's a little bit of progress, but man, we have to win these games."
AL’S UNSELFISH PLAY
Al is averaging a career high two assists per game. While that may seem insignificant statistically, No. 25 willingness to pass has notably improved under Rambis’ triangle offense.
Wolves’ basketball blog Canis Hoopus illustrated in interesting theory that the triangle, which utilizes passing and up-tempo play, may be transforming Al in a complimentary player as opposed to the go-to-guy:
To Al's great credit, last night was the first time I can remember him being a completely complimentary part of the offense. Now, as the main catch in the KG trade this might seem like a bad thing, but it's not. Al passed the ball well and at half time he made what I first thought was an innocuous statement (and I'm paraphrasing): "Coach just tells me to pass it to the first open guy I see." He did and when he did the Wolves moved the ball like gangbusters and didn't get bogged down in a 1/2 court game that doesn't fit the rest of the personnel on the team.
I'll go back to the question of basketball philosophy: Can Al Jefferson be the 2nd best player on a team being built as an up-tempo squad or do you build around his considerable 1/2 court post scoring talents? Can he improve his defense and passing to the point where he can fit in as something more of a complimentary player than a guy you build your entire team around? This, I think, is the main question surrounding David Kahn's approach to the roster. He himself has said that Al could be the 2nd best player on a championship team. The Wolves are still in search of their A1 option but how do you deal with your Big Dog until the arrival of Basketball Jesus? Is this a risky approach? Is it a flawed philosophy that hangs its hat more on luck than anything else? We'll just have to wait and see.
NEXT UP
The Wolves were scheduled to leave immediately after Wednesday's game for Los Angeles to begin a three-game road trip out west.
They play the Lakers on Friday night, Sacramento on Saturday and Utah on Monday. No easy task as the combined home-court record of those clubs is an impressive 31-8.
Al performance on the road has been superior to that of his play at home. He is averaging 17 points on 46 percent shooting and nine rebounds during away games compared to 14.5 points on 44 percent shooting and 8.5 rebounds while at the Target Center.
RELATED STORIES
Adding to the Wolves Dictionary (Canis Hoopus, December 10, 2009)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/sportsblogs/canishoopus.xml
Wolves feel more pain than progress (Minneapolis Star-Tribune, December 10, 2009)
http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/78908497.html
Paul's layup with 1.4 left knocks off Timberwolves (AP, December 9, 2009)
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=291209016
Hornets Sting Wolves for Last-Second Victory (NBA.com, December 9, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/Hornets_Sting_Wolves_for_Last_Secon...
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