Wittman finally seeing players emerge as leaders

Jeff Chiu, Associated Press

Marko Jaric, Antoine Walker

By KENT YOUNGBLOOD, Star Tribune

Last update: January 22, 2008 - 1:05 AM

OAKLAND, CALIF. - Randy Wittman is finally starting to see it.

The Timberwolves coach knew this would be a long season. He knew there would be many more losses than victories, especially after injuries took Theo Ratliff and Randy Foye out of the lineup for the first half of the season.

But Wittman didn't expect to still be waiting for a leader to emerge from the group that has been playing all season.

"Either you're a leader or you're not," he said before the Wolves beat Golden State 109-108 Monday. "It's stepping up and the end of the game, wanting the ball, wanting to make a play with the ball."

But finally, there are positive signs. Saturday in Denver, the Wolves lost the game but won some confidence. Monday, the team got its second road victory of the season because it showed grit down the stretch.

"[Today] was the first [game] I didn't see the shyness of trying to make a play, like it was in Denver a little bit in the end," Wittman said. "Instead, we were aggressive all the way to the end."

Wittman has been wanting that for a long time. He has been impressed with how his young team has stuck together. But he's been looking for leaders to emerge during crunch time. In the victory over Golden State, he had several.

Guards Marko Jaric and Sebastian Telfair controlled the tempo, both going without a fourth-quarter turnover. Ryan Gomes and Al Jefferson posted up and went strong to the basket. Down the stretch they demanded -- and got -- the ball.

It hasn't been that way most of the season.

"We just haven't had that one guy who has emerged and really kind of said, 'Follow me,'" Wittman said.

Now the Wolves are coming off back-to-back strong efforts on the road. And Foye -- who hasn't played this season because of a stress reaction in his left kneecap -- appears on the cusp of returning to practice full time. As a rookie, Foye showed a penchant for playing his best in the fourth quarter. This season, the fourth quarter has definitely not been the Wolves' friend.

So Wittman sees hope. Whether Foye is ready to return to full-contact work in practice is likely to be determined today.

A career day

When the season started, the Wolves wanted Gomes to play good defense, rebound the ball ... basically do the little things.

But, more and more, he is being asked to score. And Wittman is calling more plays for Gomes than ever. Monday, he had a career-high 35 points. In his past six starts, he has scored in double figures every game and had 20 or more four times. Against Golden State, Wittman kept going to Gomes, who often was being covered by the smaller Baron Davis in the post.

"I came out and hit my first few shots and then just wanted to keep rolling," Gomes said. "Coach called a few sets for me, and I just kept playing."

Dunk defense

It has been a frustrating year for Gerald Green in terms of playing time. But Green will be going to the All-Star Game to defend his slam-dunk title. Sunday after practice he started to work on potential moves.

"It's all fun and games," Green said. "Just something to keep my head up."

Joining Green in the Feb. 16 competition in New Orleans will be Orlando's Dwight Howard, Toronto's Jamario Moon and Memphis' Rudy Gay.