Wolves Frustration Boils Over
The underachieving Minnesota Timberwolves have struggled all season to figure out what they're doing differently from last year. Just last spring the Wolves overcame the absence of Troy Hudson and a hobbling Sam Cassell to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. With almost exactly the same team--all healthy this year--Minnesota is barely holding their heads above the .500 waters. And they're only doing that because of a win last night in Denver.
It's possible that last night's win could provide the spark the Wolves have been looking for. Instead of dealing with Latrel Sprewell worrying more about how he's going to feed his family than how he's going to beat his defender baseline, the Wolves received a jolt of motivation. All it took was a little scuffle.
After being stepped on for the majority of the season, the jolt of inspiration came not from Kevin Garnett or Wally Szczerbiak, but from Michael Olowokandi. The Candy Man didn't know what he was doing. His frustration just boiled over and he began fighting with Nene of Denver. But his testosterone-laced outbreak served more of a purpose than he realized.
The fight came at the end of the third quarter of a tight game in Denver. A little pushing and shoving turned into the flurry of wildly inaccurate hay-makers that typlifies every NBA fight. As usual, no one landed a solid blow, no one was hurt and both players were ejected. But it also did something else. It pissed the Wolves off.
They realize it was the first time this season anyone had stood their ground against an opponent. They realized they were no longer the scrappy underdog with something to prove. Now they were the complacent favorite on Laker-like cruise control. Only they might not have the ability to shift into another gear as seamlessly as L.A. has become famous for. They realized they had to start playing for real.
Late in the third quarter, the Timberwolves realized they had wasted enough time. It was time to throw down and see what happened. The result was a Michael Olowokandi ejection and--finally--a Timberwolves win on the road.
It's possible that last night's win could provide the spark the Wolves have been looking for. Instead of dealing with Latrel Sprewell worrying more about how he's going to feed his family than how he's going to beat his defender baseline, the Wolves received a jolt of motivation. All it took was a little scuffle.
After being stepped on for the majority of the season, the jolt of inspiration came not from Kevin Garnett or Wally Szczerbiak, but from Michael Olowokandi. The Candy Man didn't know what he was doing. His frustration just boiled over and he began fighting with Nene of Denver. But his testosterone-laced outbreak served more of a purpose than he realized.
The fight came at the end of the third quarter of a tight game in Denver. A little pushing and shoving turned into the flurry of wildly inaccurate hay-makers that typlifies every NBA fight. As usual, no one landed a solid blow, no one was hurt and both players were ejected. But it also did something else. It pissed the Wolves off.
They realize it was the first time this season anyone had stood their ground against an opponent. They realized they were no longer the scrappy underdog with something to prove. Now they were the complacent favorite on Laker-like cruise control. Only they might not have the ability to shift into another gear as seamlessly as L.A. has become famous for. They realized they had to start playing for real.
Late in the third quarter, the Timberwolves realized they had wasted enough time. It was time to throw down and see what happened. The result was a Michael Olowokandi ejection and--finally--a Timberwolves win on the road.
posted by Joe Siple | 8:36 AM
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