Britt Robson/On The Ball on Kirk Snyder:
He seems to play with a little bit of mean streak, and I vacillate
between liking and frowning at that side of his makeup. On the one hand
he makes the hustle plays that we all want to pin gold stars on Brewer
for accomplishing. In the first half tonight, he had enough juice and
foresight to hightail after Marko Jaric after Jaric had made a steal
and subsequently blown the contested layup (big surprise, eh?),
slamming home Jaric’s too-strong finish. Conversely, there was a play
during Snyder’s second half turnover spree where, after the faulty
pass, he flew down the floor trailing a Rockets’ 3-on-1 drill, and it
took two nifty bits of execution–a feed back from T-Mac under the hoop
to a driving Scola, who double pumped under Snyder’s flying block
attempt to lay it in–to prevent him from making a glorious recovery.
between liking and frowning at that side of his makeup. On the one hand
he makes the hustle plays that we all want to pin gold stars on Brewer
for accomplishing. In the first half tonight, he had enough juice and
foresight to hightail after Marko Jaric after Jaric had made a steal
and subsequently blown the contested layup (big surprise, eh?),
slamming home Jaric’s too-strong finish. Conversely, there was a play
during Snyder’s second half turnover spree where, after the faulty
pass, he flew down the floor trailing a Rockets’ 3-on-1 drill, and it
took two nifty bits of execution–a feed back from T-Mac under the hoop
to a driving Scola, who double pumped under Snyder’s flying block
attempt to lay it in–to prevent him from making a glorious recovery.
Plump from a March schedule when they won six times against teams that
have as much or as little for which to play as they do, the
Timberwolves head toward April with a game tonight in San Antonio,
concluding the season with six contests against opponents bound for the
playoffs.
have as much or as little for which to play as they do, the
Timberwolves head toward April with a game tonight in San Antonio,
concluding the season with six contests against opponents bound for the
playoffs.
Their ascent in the past three weeks to 18 victories this season is
good for their confidence and, in some cases, summer contract
negotiations. This next schedule stretch, which began with Wednesday’s
97-86 loss at Houston and continues against the NBA champion Spurs,
will provide a more realistic read on how far they have progressed from
their 5-34 season start.
good for their confidence and, in some cases, summer contract
negotiations. This next schedule stretch, which began with Wednesday’s
97-86 loss at Houston and continues against the NBA champion Spurs,
will provide a more realistic read on how far they have progressed from
their 5-34 season start.
Yet, there is one aspect of the ending to this season confusing me. Why is Kirk Snyder getting the amount of minutes he has of late at the expense of Corey Brewer?
The team has played well with Snyder in the starting lineup and he should certainly see his share of minutes during the remaining games. The problem is Snyder could be a valuable bench player in the future, while Brewer is supposedly one of the young pieces to the future of the Timberwolves puzzle.
Vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale said Madsen will play a role as the Wolves move forward.
"He’s a quality person, a great teammate, a great
guy to have in your organization, and you can’t say enough good stuff
about him," McHale said.
guy to have in your organization, and you can’t say enough good stuff
about him," McHale said.
Madsen could have an opportunity to play more next season as the Wolves mature.
"We had a lot of question marks, a lot of guys in
the last year of deals, a lot of guys we had to make evaluations on
moving forward," Wittman said. "Hopefully you don’t have as many
question marks on your team next year as we did this year."
the last year of deals, a lot of guys we had to make evaluations on
moving forward," Wittman said. "Hopefully you don’t have as many
question marks on your team next year as we did this year."
Q: On why he wasn’t counting on hearing his name on draft day:
Smith: A lot of people doubted me, just like a lot of colleges doubted
me too. I didn’t really know, I knew some teams were interested but not
many promises are kept in this business. So I just stayed focused and I
got my opportunity when they drafted me. I couldn’t work out in the
summer, or maybe I would have been a higher pick. But as soon as the
training camp started is when I dedicated myself and said ‘Hey, I just
want to play myself into the rotation and take it one day at a time.’
That happened, and I got some action. The first game I was surprised
that I was able to come in and make an impact and we got a win. It was
all good from there.
Smith: A lot of people doubted me, just like a lot of colleges doubted
me too. I didn’t really know, I knew some teams were interested but not
many promises are kept in this business. So I just stayed focused and I
got my opportunity when they drafted me. I couldn’t work out in the
summer, or maybe I would have been a higher pick. But as soon as the
training camp started is when I dedicated myself and said ‘Hey, I just
want to play myself into the rotation and take it one day at a time.’
That happened, and I got some action. The first game I was surprised
that I was able to come in and make an impact and we got a win. It was
all good from there.
Timberwolves vice president Kevin McHale is in Europe scouting players for June’s NBA draft.
Postgame quotes from the loss to the Rockets
Previews of tonight’s game at San Antonio:
Click here for the forum’s game thread
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