ducks
12-06-2004, 11:26 AM
Wolves never dull with Sam Cassell
BY MIKE WELLS, Pioneer Press
The Timberwolves have come to accept point guard Sam Cassell's erratic shooting.
Cassell has the ability to take over games with his sweet midrange jumper. He also takes a lot of shots that can leave you scratching your head.
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"You love him and you hate him in the same game, sometimes on the same play," coach Flip Saunders said. "One thing about him, he's not a guy who is afraid to take big shots."
Cassell has been hitting most of those shots lately, which helped the Wolves go 4-0 on their recent West Coast road trip.
"He takes the majority of the shots. As a team we sort of adjust to that," teammate and reigning NBA most valuable player Kevin Garnett said. "Some of the shots you question, but we all do that when we're in a groove."
During the first month of the season, Cassell continually shrugged off the notion that he was in a slump, reminding anyone who would listen that he's a notoriously slow starter. He is averaging 22.2 points over the past five games, all Wolves victories.
"He's getting his rhythm back," Saunders said after his starting point guard scored 30 points in a 107-100 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.
It's not Cassell's sudden scoring spurt that is intriguing, it's the timing that leaves you wondering how he does it. He scored 10 points in the final 2:20 of the Wolves' victory over Sacramento on Nov. 28. Then he had 18 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and overtime against the Clippers.
"Some of them are bad shots, some go in. Some are good shots," said teammate Latrell Sprewell. "But he's not afraid to take them, and everybody knows that."
The Wolves have four legitimate options to shoot on a key possession — Cassell, Garnett, Sprewell and Wally Szczerbiak — but it's usually Cassell who ends up with the ball in his hands. He said he got his confidence from his days with the Houston Rockets, who won back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995.
"I think (coach) Rudy (Tomjanovich) gave me the confidence that he was going to play me in the fourth," Cassell said. "Kenny Smith was a great perimeter shooter, but he never took the ball to the basket. With Dream (Hakeem Olajuwon) and Clyde (Drexler) out there, teams didn't think I was going to take the shot. So when I didn't take the shot, Rudy didn't have to tell me to take the shot, the guys on the team would say something to me. That's why I have the confidence now to shoot the ball."
Cassell said he's willing to accept the fact that some of those big shots won't go in.
"I don't mind being the goat. Somebody has to be the goat," he said. "You have to fail before you succeed in this game. That's how I look at it."
No MVP treatment: Garnett catches the ball in the post. He squares up. Gives a pump fake. Gives an up-and-under move. But before he can get the shot off, the whistle blows. He is called for traveling.
Garnett has been called for numerous violations in the post this season. Though he rarely complains about officiating, he admitted the "so-called" traveling violations are getting to him.
"I've never complained, but it is frustrating," he said. "Things you work on in practice, the offseason, and then you incorporate in the game and it gets called for a walk just because the referee doesn't understand the steps or the pivot foot.
"It is difficult, but it is part of the game. What you have to do is go up to the ref and let him know what you're doing; explain the move. Sometimes that helps. You can't shy away from the move. You still have to be aggressive and do the things you've worked on."
Saunders said the team will look at film and, if they don't see the violations, will send tapes in to be reviewed by the league.
"We'll try to make them more aware," he said.
Mike Wells covers the NBA and the Timberwolves. He can be reached at [email protected].
BY MIKE WELLS, Pioneer Press
The Timberwolves have come to accept point guard Sam Cassell's erratic shooting.
Cassell has the ability to take over games with his sweet midrange jumper. He also takes a lot of shots that can leave you scratching your head.
ADVERTISEMENT
"You love him and you hate him in the same game, sometimes on the same play," coach Flip Saunders said. "One thing about him, he's not a guy who is afraid to take big shots."
Cassell has been hitting most of those shots lately, which helped the Wolves go 4-0 on their recent West Coast road trip.
"He takes the majority of the shots. As a team we sort of adjust to that," teammate and reigning NBA most valuable player Kevin Garnett said. "Some of the shots you question, but we all do that when we're in a groove."
During the first month of the season, Cassell continually shrugged off the notion that he was in a slump, reminding anyone who would listen that he's a notoriously slow starter. He is averaging 22.2 points over the past five games, all Wolves victories.
"He's getting his rhythm back," Saunders said after his starting point guard scored 30 points in a 107-100 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.
It's not Cassell's sudden scoring spurt that is intriguing, it's the timing that leaves you wondering how he does it. He scored 10 points in the final 2:20 of the Wolves' victory over Sacramento on Nov. 28. Then he had 18 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and overtime against the Clippers.
"Some of them are bad shots, some go in. Some are good shots," said teammate Latrell Sprewell. "But he's not afraid to take them, and everybody knows that."
The Wolves have four legitimate options to shoot on a key possession — Cassell, Garnett, Sprewell and Wally Szczerbiak — but it's usually Cassell who ends up with the ball in his hands. He said he got his confidence from his days with the Houston Rockets, who won back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995.
"I think (coach) Rudy (Tomjanovich) gave me the confidence that he was going to play me in the fourth," Cassell said. "Kenny Smith was a great perimeter shooter, but he never took the ball to the basket. With Dream (Hakeem Olajuwon) and Clyde (Drexler) out there, teams didn't think I was going to take the shot. So when I didn't take the shot, Rudy didn't have to tell me to take the shot, the guys on the team would say something to me. That's why I have the confidence now to shoot the ball."
Cassell said he's willing to accept the fact that some of those big shots won't go in.
"I don't mind being the goat. Somebody has to be the goat," he said. "You have to fail before you succeed in this game. That's how I look at it."
No MVP treatment: Garnett catches the ball in the post. He squares up. Gives a pump fake. Gives an up-and-under move. But before he can get the shot off, the whistle blows. He is called for traveling.
Garnett has been called for numerous violations in the post this season. Though he rarely complains about officiating, he admitted the "so-called" traveling violations are getting to him.
"I've never complained, but it is frustrating," he said. "Things you work on in practice, the offseason, and then you incorporate in the game and it gets called for a walk just because the referee doesn't understand the steps or the pivot foot.
"It is difficult, but it is part of the game. What you have to do is go up to the ref and let him know what you're doing; explain the move. Sometimes that helps. You can't shy away from the move. You still have to be aggressive and do the things you've worked on."
Saunders said the team will look at film and, if they don't see the violations, will send tapes in to be reviewed by the league.
"We'll try to make them more aware," he said.
Mike Wells covers the NBA and the Timberwolves. He can be reached at [email protected].