brutal loss

The Timberwolves lost 89 - 85 in Portland tonight. Kevin Garnett had a brilliant shooting game, going 12 for 13 from the floor. But he attempted no shots in the last 6:48 of the game. He did pass up some opportunities to shoot, but for the most part, it seemed that he was running the offense. He did post up a few times late in the game and was missed by the guards with the ball. It's strange. I watched the whole 4th quarter thinking this would happen a little. I listened to the announcers asking where Garnett had gone and saying he was coming up small at a crucial time. I figured Garnett would contribute in other ways and shoot as needed. But I had no idea that Garnett would have 0 shot attempts for the last 6 minutes. I don't think it's all on him (although some of it has to be), but it does make me question a few things. First, if Coach Casey wasn't telling the Wolves in timeouts to go to Garnett, then I think there's a problem. Second, if he told the team that and they couldn't get Garnett the ball, then there's another problem. It really didn't appear that Garnett didn't want the ball, despite him having given up the ball in situations where he could have shot. He just wasn't open on the catch and wasn't aggressively trying to score. I think it's just another underscore to his nature as a player. He was looking to make good plays. Anyway, this game hurt to watch and the Wolves really needed the win. The outlook for the rest of the season is a lot bleaker now.

One final miscue of note. On the Blazers final possession of the game with 29 seconds left, the Wolves forced a miss but couldn't get the rebound. There were 5 seconds on the clock when the Blazers got the ball, but Garnett only fouled Steve Blake with 0.3 left. Garnett should've fouled him earlier. He was kindof half-fouling him by bodying up on him in the corner, but a more blatant obvious foul was called for. I blame the coaching staff a little also -- seems like everybody should know to foul and anybody else could've come over and fouled while Blake was trapped. But it is really on Garnett. He played a ridiculous game, though, despite his stretch of non-shooting and his slowness to foul at the end. The state of the Wolves is very fragile right now. They really need to get something positive going before the All-Star Break, or 1) it would seem that the playoffs are out of reach again, and 2) Garnett's future with the Wolves would seem to be in doubt.