Garnett shoulders blame for backslide

By Kent Youngblood, Star Tribune

Last update: March 28, 2007 - 12:04 AM

Kevin Garnett walked into the Timberwolves locker room, sat down and spent the next few minutes putting the blame for Tuesday's meltdown exactly where he felt it belonged.

On himself.

Clearly frustrated, at times neglecting to delete the expletives, Garnett dissected the Wolves' latest collapse, starting with himself. As things were falling apart, the team got too conservative, he said.

"I was telling everyone, when we came in [after the game] I felt it was my fault," he said. "As the leader of this team, we have to stay aggressive for 48 minutes. I'm very good at dictating and understanding the game, knowing how stuff flows. I feel I got away from that and didn't lead properly. [I'm] very aggravated and discouraged with that."

After the game coach Randy Wittman talked about how the team stopped playing fundamentally sound team basketball in the final quarter. Wittman bemoaned an unwillingness to share the ball as the biggest problem.

Garnett didn't agree.

"No, I think we just played conservative," he said of the Wolves, who missed their final seven shots.

"Once momentum is gathered, now you have to make a run, or you have to slow [the other team] down and find a way to alter it," Garnett said. "When you're conservative like we were, no sense of urgency, things tend to go in that direction. ...

"For some reason I didn't initiate and didn't keep us together and do those things down the stretch, and that bothers me."

Pick a lane

So why was Randy Foye able to get to the hoop so often Sunday?

His quick first step had a lot to do with it, of course. And Garnett's willingness to play pick-and-roll with Foye down the stretch against Portland was a big reason, too.

But a lot of it had to do with the personnel on the floor with Garnett and Foye. For the second time in recent games Wittman went with a small lineup that also included Ricky Davis and Mike James.

The goal with that lineup -- which also often includes Craig Smith -- is to flatten the defense. The Wolves put Davis and James in the corners, two shooters the opponent presumably has to account for. And that creates more room at the top of the key and into the lane.

Throwing down

One of the more arcane stats kept by the Wolves is the number of dunks by each player. For the record, entering Tuesday's game, Garnett leads the way with 56, followed by Mark Blount (39) and Smith (23).

Those who have not dunked? Guards Troy Hudson and James -- and forward Mark Madsen. Madsen has battled injury, which has limited him to 46 games. Still, more than a few members of the Wolves were surprised to hear this.

"That's funny, wow," Garnett said. "That's a bit of a shock. Dog is a powerful dunker, and he doesn't have a dunk this year? I'll have to get on him about that."

Kent Youngblood • kyoungblood@startribune.com

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