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I'm not sure what to say. The Wolves lost a game they led by 19 points in the 4th quarter. How they lost was thrilling, but almost irrelevent. This marks at least the 4th straight game in which the Wolves led by double-digits and went on to win or lose by 6 or fewer. Worse yet, they've been playing worse teams than themselves, and are about to go through a pretty rough stretch against better clubs (Detroit, Memphis, and San Antonio).
Garnett took one shot in the 4th quarter and he missed it short -- a jumper from his office. He looked a little tight on the shot, but with such a small sample size who really knows if he was tight in the clutch. I really disliked the play-calling in the 4th, especially as the Sixers were making their run. The Wolves went to Trenton Hassell several times and Jaric drove the lane a couple of times. Wally didn't do much and KG didn't do anything. Bill Walton went on and on about how this game underscored the difference between Iverson and Garnett. I thought he made a valid point. As the game went on and the Sixers made a run, Iverson took all the shots. His attitude appeared to be, "if we're going to win this game, I'm going to bring it home for us." He forced all of the action and took the vast majority of the shots (although he did pass to a wide open C-Webb for a huge 3-pointer to give them the lead with under a minute). Garnett, he said, doesn't care who gets it done down the stretch, and was too willing to defer to his teammates during crucial possessions.
Walton's partners were quick to point out that Iverson is a guard and Garnett a forward, which makes it harder for Garnett to control his shot selection than Iverson. That's totally true. One thing that has been consistent over the last few games is that the Wolves run the same plays down the stretch as they run all game. They use KG as quarterback at the top of the key or the elbow. If he wanted to take a shot there, he'd have to beat the whole defense because if he looks for a shot, everybody's there and would collapse. Instead, he does what he does all game, which is pass to teammates in good offensive positions. I agree that he should be shooting more, but it should really come from different plays. The Wolves need to run the 1-4 offense at least a few times down the stretch. They need spacing that will give KG room to work and make any defender who double teams leave his man wide open.
Watching the end of the game left me really upset and I'm actually becoming upset again from talking about it. I'd like to hit on a few other interesting things that happened. ABC interviewed Glen Taylor at one point who was very complimentary of Garnett, saying he was untouchable with regard to trades and calling him the franchise. A few stats from the game jumped out at me also. All 5 starters for the Wolves scored in double figures, and all except for Eddie Griffin had double digit shot attempts (and Griffin had 9). I guess that kind of balance is good in general, but Wally and Kevin combined for only 31 shot attempts. That doesn't sound like enough, and I bet there's a number over 30 and under 45 that is a good predictor of whether the Wolves win or lose. This will be my first official stat on the site. I'll post it as soon as I've got it.
Garnett took one shot in the 4th quarter and he missed it short -- a jumper from his office. He looked a little tight on the shot, but with such a small sample size who really knows if he was tight in the clutch. I really disliked the play-calling in the 4th, especially as the Sixers were making their run. The Wolves went to Trenton Hassell several times and Jaric drove the lane a couple of times. Wally didn't do much and KG didn't do anything. Bill Walton went on and on about how this game underscored the difference between Iverson and Garnett. I thought he made a valid point. As the game went on and the Sixers made a run, Iverson took all the shots. His attitude appeared to be, "if we're going to win this game, I'm going to bring it home for us." He forced all of the action and took the vast majority of the shots (although he did pass to a wide open C-Webb for a huge 3-pointer to give them the lead with under a minute). Garnett, he said, doesn't care who gets it done down the stretch, and was too willing to defer to his teammates during crucial possessions.
Walton's partners were quick to point out that Iverson is a guard and Garnett a forward, which makes it harder for Garnett to control his shot selection than Iverson. That's totally true. One thing that has been consistent over the last few games is that the Wolves run the same plays down the stretch as they run all game. They use KG as quarterback at the top of the key or the elbow. If he wanted to take a shot there, he'd have to beat the whole defense because if he looks for a shot, everybody's there and would collapse. Instead, he does what he does all game, which is pass to teammates in good offensive positions. I agree that he should be shooting more, but it should really come from different plays. The Wolves need to run the 1-4 offense at least a few times down the stretch. They need spacing that will give KG room to work and make any defender who double teams leave his man wide open.
Watching the end of the game left me really upset and I'm actually becoming upset again from talking about it. I'd like to hit on a few other interesting things that happened. ABC interviewed Glen Taylor at one point who was very complimentary of Garnett, saying he was untouchable with regard to trades and calling him the franchise. A few stats from the game jumped out at me also. All 5 starters for the Wolves scored in double figures, and all except for Eddie Griffin had double digit shot attempts (and Griffin had 9). I guess that kind of balance is good in general, but Wally and Kevin combined for only 31 shot attempts. That doesn't sound like enough, and I bet there's a number over 30 and under 45 that is a good predictor of whether the Wolves win or lose. This will be my first official stat on the site. I'll post it as soon as I've got it.
posted by Big Ticket Fan at 8:02 PM
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