Timberwolves Making It Tough

Considering how the Minnesota Timberwolves battled Denver and Sacramento in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Lakers should not have been surprised to see them turn physical in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

Led by Kevin Garnett, the Timberwolves pride themselves in not backing down. They went chest to chest with a young, fired-up Nugget team and sent them packing, and then won a tough, chippy series over the Kings with a hard-fought Game 7 victory.

Minnesota Coach Flip Saunders gives his team a chance to win with sound adjustments. His subtle moves with Garnett on both ends of the court helped the Timberwolves bounce back with an impressive victory Sunday after they had been handled with ease by the Lakers in Game 1.

Lakers’ move: Garnett, who had 24 points and 11 rebounds in Game 2, is the key to the Timberwolves’ offense. By moving Garnett around, Saunders was able to keep Kobe Bryant from double-teaming, as Bryant had in Game 1.

It’s time for the Lakers to go back to their team-defense approach, which worked so well against San Antonio. By switching on screens and moving their feet to help each other, the Lakers should be able to cut down Minnesota’s penetration drives, which hurt them Sunday.

Since the Timberwolves had success using full-court pressure in Game 2, the Lakers should expect more of the same tonight. Laker Coach Phil Jackson likes to turn to a small lineup, with Bryant at small forward and Derek Fisher in the backcourt, to combat this tactic. The key for the Lakers is keeping the ball moving and getting into their attack mode more quickly in their offensive sets.

Timberwolves’ move: Saunders used Garnett as a floater in the Timberwolves’ half-court defense, and his height and quickness gave the Lakers problems. Garnett can’t get carried away trying to help stop Shaquille O’Neal and Bryant, because Karl Malone still is a factor.

In the second half of Game 2, Garnett drifted away from Malone and the Timberwolves’ rebounding suffered. They did a decent job of boxing out, but they can’t count on swingmen Wally Szczerbiak and Fred Hoiberg to combine for 10 rebounds as they did in Game 2. O’Neal is averaging 11.5 rebounds (5.5 offensive) in the series, and Minnesota needs a team effort to keep him off the boards.

Expect Sam Cassell to play tonight and be more of a factor than he was on Sunday. But if Cassell is ineffective, Saunders probably will not hesitate to play Darrick Martin, who gave the Timberwolves a major lift with his play off the bench.

Something to look for: In Game 2, the Timberwolves got into the Lakers’ heads with back screens that were frequent and physical. Don’t expect Saunders to let up.

Gary Payton, Fisher, Bryant and Malone have to stay cool, no matter how hard the collision when they run into unexpected screens. The Timberwolves are willing to do the little things to frustrate the Lakers.

By calling out potential picks to each other, the Lakers will cut down on defensive breakdowns and blind-side hits.