HOUSTON - Trenton Hassell was talking enthusiastically about the success in recent games of the Timberwolves' zone defense, as sure a sign as any that Hassell has been in a slump.
Hassell is their go-to guy for sticky man-to-man defense, but his production at both ends of the floor has been down lately and his minutes have been, too: from 30 per game in the Wolves' first eight contests to 20.8 over the past five.
In a chicken-egg relationship, the team uses more zone when Hassell sits and Marko Jaric plays, and Jaric's recent contributions have made it easier for coach Dwane Casey to sub out Hassell.
"I've been struggling to find my rhythm," Hassell said. "But what I do, I don't need a lot of minutes to find it."
Casey continues to start the defensive specialist, glad to have the veteran swingman's experience against other teams' top scorers. "Trenton's been solid defensively," Casey said. "He's always going to have one of the best offensive players in the world every night."
That said, Casey said he likes the tandem of Jaric subbing for Hassell, adding, "Both of those guys have done the job together."
No 'three' spree
Just because Mark Blount hit a clutch three-pointer late in Monday's game at Dallas and now is a career 50 percent shooter from the arc, don't expect to see the veteran Wolves center launching from out there. Blount's "50 percent" is 1-of-2, over seven NBA seasons.
"He can make those shots, but I don't know if that's something we want to add to our repertoire," Casey said. "... He's one of the best mid-range big man shooters in the league and I think that's where he feels comfortable."
In the five games prior to Tuesday, Blount had hit 55.8 percent of his shots and averaged 14.6 points. He fell back to six points in the 82-75 loss to Houston.
Etc.
• Casey wasn't quite ready to crown Houston's Yao Ming as the NBA's best center. "If [Shaquille O'Neal] is healthy, if Shaq's back, with his experience ... till otherwise proven," Casey said. But he praised Yao's improvement, saying: "A very dominant player. His size, and now he's got that so-called killer instinct."
• Ricky Davis and Mike James combined for 11 points Tuesday, barely half of what each man averaged last season.
• Houston's Tracy McGrady exited in the second quarter after getting kicked in his abdomen, played 20 minutes after halftime anyway and finished 4-of-14 with eight points but seven assists.
Steve Aschburner • saschburner@startribune.com
wolves/nba
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