Guard Rashad McCants, who left Wednesday’s game in the second quarter because of back spasms, did not practice Thursday and his status is day to day.
“He didn’t feel much better today than he was last night,” Wittman said.
From the head coach on down, the mood at Timberwolves practice Thursday was noticeably upbeat. Finally protecting a lead after blowing so many will do that to a team.
“Well needed,” coach Randy Wittman said a day after Wednesday’s 102-96 victory over Philadelphia. “It’s a more relaxed state of mind, but still very focused [Thursday], which was good to see. You can see the smiles on the faces and a little but more relaxed atmosphere.”
Randy Wittman’s coaching job is safe, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said.
“If I worried about the short term, and I looked at the economy and all my companies, if I based things on that, then I’d fire all my presidents because they had a bad month,” Taylor said. “I’ve been through ups and downs. You’ve got to be patient. I think Randy has prepared (the players) well. We’ve just got to get them some confidence. They’re still young.”
Also from Walters:
Wittman has this season and next season remaining on a contract worth nearly $5 million. No shakeups are planned, Taylor said.
“Because they’ve done some really good things,” Taylor said. “It’s just been that fourth quarter. Is it just unlucky, or why do we do turnovers late in the game?”
“I’m harder on my point guards than anybody else,” Wittman said. “I demand more of them than anybody else. [Foye’s] an extension of me out there on the floor. The more I can sit there and watch the game, the better.”
That’s what Wittman demands of Foye.
“He’s a good kid, sometimes he’s almost too good of a kid,” Wittman said. “There’s got to be a time when you kick a teammate in the seat of his pants; there’s a time to be emotional. His personality doesn’t draw that right now. Ideally, you’d like your point guard to be that guy. You look at the Magic Johnsons and the Isiah Thomases and all the great point guards who had the ability to do that, their teams were pretty good.
But birthdays are piling up out West.
“A lot of the teams out West are maybe aging a little bit,” said Minnesota forward Mark Madsen. “If you look at some of the key players on some of the teams that have been historically dominant, not everyone has 20- to 25-year-olds. They’ve got some guys in their 30s.”
And so the Timberwolves 2008-2009 season has begun, and the product reflects the same thing that the coach conveyed on media day: no definition, and no air. The fortunate fact is that the Timberwolves have a good mix of talent. Yet if the leadership can’t put the pieces together and move them in a positive direction then you end up with what they currently have: no definition, and no air.
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