If you want to learn about what is making Mark Blount tick, don't ask Mark Blount.
The Timberwolves center is much happier shooting the ball on the court than talking about his game off of it. Ask him what has changed and he'll shrug his shoulders. Ask him what is suddenly working and the look you get? Well, seems to him very little has changed.
"I'm just going out and playing my game," Blount said after practice Thursday. "I know how to play this game. I was taught how to play this game very well. I know what I need to do out there."
Well, it seems self-analysis can wait. Right now Blount is too busy playing. The Wolves' starting center is starting to make a big-time impact, especially on the offensive end. Blount is never going to beat a player up on defense -- though he did play well against San Antonio's Tim Duncan on Wednesday night. He's never going to win a rebounding title, though his numbers in that area are on the rise, too.
But he can score, from mid- to long-range and occasionally in the post. And that means Blount just might be the most offensively potent center in the Wolves' checkered history at that position.
Entering tonight's game with Philadelphia, Blount has averaged 18.3 points over his past six games, raising his season scoring average to 12.6, third on the team behind Kevin Garnett and Ricky Davis.
That 12.6 average is the highest ever for a Wolves center. Of course, only three other true centers in Wolves history have averaged double figures for a season: Randy Breuer (10.2 in 1989-90), Stacey King (11.8 in 1993-94) and Rasho Nesterovic (11.2 in 2003-04).
Blount scored 28 points Wednesday, tied for the second-highest single-game total by a Wolves center behind Breuer, who scored 40 against Manute Bol and Golden State in the Metrodome in 1990.
"Mark is probably the best offensive player we've had in that spot," Wolves vice president for basketball operations Kevin McHale said. "He's unique in that he can really shoot the ball well."
Blount's forte is the mid-range shot (he has made 66.6 percent of his shots over the past six games). The fact that he's able to find that shot on a consistent basis speaks to the chemistry he has developed with his teammates, especially Garnett and Davis.
And on Wednesday, in addition to making 12 of 14 shots, Blount matched up with Duncan on defense.
"He has been in a nice groove ... the last couple of weeks," Garnett said after the game. "I thought he played Timmy as well as I have seen him played."
Blount has clearly found his place in the Wolves offense, a process made much easier knowing that having Garnett in the middle allows him to move to the mid-range.
"If you're going to score on a consistent basis, you have to get shots from consistent spots," McHale said. "He's starting to get a little more of that."
Blount also has started to make teams pay more for doubling Garnett in the post.
"He's letting the game come to him," Wolves coach Dwane Casey said. "He's not forcing anything."
Blount's not overanalyzing it, either.
"Guys are just looking for me," he said. "Ricky Davis is doing a great job looking for me. I'm just getting the ball."
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