Sunday, March 21, 2004

Wally's Back

But don't take my word for it. Here's what the Startribune had to say about it:

"Szczerbiak came off the bench -- and missed his first three shots. But coach Flip Saunders stuck with him, and Szczerbiak found a rhythm, hitting eight of his final 10 shots. Szczerbiak helped the Wolves make the Suns pay for doubling on Kevin Garnett in the post by going 4-for-5 from three-point range on the way to 24 points.

Call it a coming-out party. Or, better yet, a coming-back party."

The Trib would have you believe it is because of all the extra time practicing his shot. That's one theory. Pioneer Press has another one:

"I (told him) slow down a little bit," Garnett said. "Take the shots that are there. Sometimes I feel like he turns down some easier shots for some more difficult shots. That's not him. He's a flow guy. The ball's there, he has a shot and he takes it."

Turns out it was Garnett's kind words. I don't know if I would have bought that either, until today:
In today's game, Garnett passed the ball to Wally, who decided to dribble (with his head down, as always) instead of the catch and shoot we have come to expect from him. He dribbled right into traffic, and missed the shot. KG was overheard on the TV saying, "Shit dogg, shoot it." Wally nodded him off, but didn't put the ball on the floor for the rest of the game. The result? 6-14 for 18 points(two threes), 5 boards and 4 assists. Probably one of the best performaces from World this year. Just listen to the big fella!

As an added bonus, the T-wolves won 98-77 over the Nuggets, to go two games up over San Antonio, and just 2 1/2 behind Sacto for the lead in the West. That makes it two in a row for Minnesota, and yes, we call that a streak.

In Other News
You have to like what the Vikings are doing in the free agent market. The addition of Marcus Robinson and Jermaine Wiggins on offense will take some of the pressure off Moss, and perhaps develop the much-needed second threat. I really like Robinson's size and ability, and with Moss taking the defense wherever he goes on the field, Marcus should find a lot of opportunities. Wiggins has proven he can be a big play guy, and gives us a tough blocking TE.
On defense, Winfield and Carter add volumes to our pass coverage, Steve Martin give us some veteran leadership and depth. And now we have added Punter Darren Bennett, who may be older than usual, but had an outstanding year last year, pinning the ball inside the twenty on 28 of his 82 punts, and averaging over 40 yards per punt over his 9 year carreer. We all know what a good punter can do for a team, especially one fond of filed position games, like the Vikings have been known to be, from time to time.
Tid-Bits
At some point philly has to wonder if Iverson is worth the trouble. They would take a bath in attendence AND market price to trade him, but refusing to come off the bench is bush league at best. The EAst is bringing real talent this year into the playoffs, and we could actually see a 7 game series for the finals. Indy and Detriot are both tough teams on both ends, and could really trouble Western running teams. The Twins are 11-7 during spring training so far: just .5 back in the Central race. Mark Cuban is more likable than he appears on TV. Check this post out.

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