Eric Musselman/Pro Basketball News on Brian Cardinal:
Cardinal is one of those rare NBA role players who, as Julius Erving said here, understands his role and is happy to be in the league. Cardinal is first to acknowledge that he’s “heavy on will and seemingly light on skill.”
The Wolves played without guard Randy Foye (hip) and forward Craig Smith (calf) on Sunday, and Foye could need some more rest before returning.
“It hasn’t been right since he (injured) it about five, six weeks ago,” McHale said. “It just goes through periods of better and worse, but I really saw him flinching in the last couple games. He said he hit it the last game again and jammed it up coming off of a screen. … Today, he said it was sore, so we’ll let him rest it until he knows better.”
Mike Miller led the 3-point shooting barrage as Minnesota shot a stellar 10-20 from the arc on its way to snapping a seven-game losing skid. Ryan Gomes added 21 points and Rodney Carney contributed 19 off the bench as the Wolves improved to 21-53 on the season.
“We had good ball movement today, we had good body movement,” head coach Kevin McHale said. “Guys stepped up and made some shots.”
So much of playing well in the NBA seems to be simply understanding what you can and cannot do. When Miller takes it upon himself to run the offense, he takes the ball out of the hands of the team’s real playmakers and, by playing well outside of the boundaries of his own skills, negates himself as a scorer. Maybe not realizing (or maybe fully realizing) how their praise indicted Miller’s season up to this point, both Telfair and Ryan Gomes commented on how refreshing it was to see Miller shoot aggressively, and on how that aggressive shooting opened up the floor, creating passing lanes and space to cut and drive. Which is, like, just exactly what it was supposed to do, exactly the reason it seemed like a good idea to pair Miller with Al Jefferson. No big deal though, we’ve still got eight games to turn things around.
If Mr. Taylor is able to do this one thing that fans are begging for, there could be countless more family memories like mine today inside the Target Center. These tough economic times only create the need for more cheap options for family fun and Mr. Taylor showed concern for his team’s fans with his Early Bird offer. Now is the time for him to finish it out and show the fans where his heart truly lies…with one man or with thousands of fans.
Meanwhile, the Wolves might be close to the playoffs by now if they’d just stop answering the telephone on draft day. They draft a good player and then ship him off before the night is over. Somebody pull the plug on the landline and hide the company cell phones.
Perhaps with Stack running the show, draft day will not so much resemble a large animal bleeding to death by the side of the road. In any event, it will be good to have a fresh face in charge. I think.
When Foye went to practice to see the team he left behind, the players who were freshman contributors in 2006 – Dwayne Anderson, Dante Cunningham, and Shane Clark – are now seniors taking the Wildcats one step further.
“He talked to us in practice and he just gave us words of encouragement,” Anderson said. “He told us, ‘You’re doing an excellent job. Just keep pushing and believe what Coach is saying,’ and I think it’s really paying off now.”
From the Associated Press:
Villanova’s 24-year Final Four absence is over all because of Reynolds’ clear-path, half-court race to the rim that gave the Wildcats a 78-76 victory over Pittsburgh in the East Regional final…
In Minneapolis, 1985 most outstanding player Ed Pinckney watched the classic finish.
“Thank goodness Scottie Reynolds had enough confidence to take it the length of the court,” said Pinckney, a Timberwolves assistant coach. “It was just enjoyable watching them achieve such a great thing for them and the university. It was a lot of fun.”
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