Wolves have no answers for 'embarrassing' effort

Nothing would make Randy Wittman happier than having a team whose bite was worse than his bark.

This is not an easy task, given Wittman's considerable bark, especially after another dismal loss Sunday. But once it was over, after Dallas' systematic 101-78 dismantling of the Timberwolves at Target Center, Wittman again questioned the toughness of his team and vowed changes.

"We came out flat, again, for the second game in a row," Wittman said. "We were almost sleepwalking at the beginning, and a team like that is going to jump all over you. We had our tail between our legs instead of biting back. You kick a dog around enough, sooner or later it is going to bite you. I have to find those dogs that are going to bite."

Dallas destroyed the Wolves' perimeter defense early, then hit from outside when the Wolves were forced into a zone. The Mavericks led by 10 before the first quarter was half gone, by as much as 25 in the first half and by 31 late in the third, when Dallas coach Avery Johnson emptied his bench.

Wittman just about emptied his bench, too, but for a different reason. He was looking for a group that would fight.

He's still looking.

"We're going to change a lot more," Wittman said, shortly before ending his rather short postgame news conference. "We have to figure it out. ... I'm not going to quit trying. If you think I'm going to just sit here, I'm not. I'm trying everything. Maybe we have to practice harder. Three, four hours. Maybe that's what it takes."

The Wolves certainly were a step slow early. The Mavs hit on nearly 60 percent of their shots while taking a 31-16 first-quarter lead; the Wolves never got closer than nine the rest of the way. The one time they did -- early in the second quarter, after an 8-0 run -- Dallas responded by scoring the next 13 points, a run that began with three consecutive three-pointers.

It was the Wolves' fourth-worst loss of the season and worst at home, and their eighth defeat in a row. They scored a season-low 35 first-half points and narrowly avoided matching their season low for a game in falling to 4-29 this season.

Asked to analyze if its offense or defense hurt his team worse, Wittman instead mentioned a lack of effort. "I was more disappointed with that [than] execution," he said.

Al Jefferson, who had his 25th double-double of the season, didn't exactly disagree.

"I really think the majority of us, we fought," he said. But we have to continue to fight, 100 percent, even when things are going really bad, we have to continue to fight."

But guard Rashad McCants, who scored 20 of his team-high 21 points after the Wolves fell behind by 27 in the third quarter, took issue.

"I don't think that's a problem at all," McCants said of the team's fight. "Never. Any man says I'm not playing hard on the floor, or we don't have any fight or we don't have any passion, we don't want to be here? That means you have 12, 14 guys who need to be cut from the team. ... We just need to execute."

Most, though, would agree that something has to change. Just what that is -- or what is left to change -- is unclear.

"I don't know where to start," guard Marko Jaric said. "A game like this, that you're constantly down 20, 30 points? It is bad and it's embarrassing. ... These fans came to watch us and we come out and lose by 20, 30? We were losing in the first half by 20 or 30 points. I don't know what to tell you guys."