Wolves trying the wide angle

The Timberwolves, along with lots of other NBA teams, are trying width instead of height with their inside players.

By JERRY ZGODA, Star Tribune

Last update: October 17, 2008 - 2:11 AM

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TORONTO - The Timberwolves, particularly with their current big-man injury woes, lack traditional NBA height, but they possess the makings of a formidable offensive line.

"Now we just have to find who our pulling guard is," Wolves coach Randy Wittman said.

There are two kinds of size in the NBA: One is height, and then there's the quality that Al Jefferson, Craig Smith, Ryan Gomes, Kevin Love and maybe even Mark Madsen present.

"We've got girth," Smith said.

Enough so that Love suggests Smith -- a 6-8 forward who earned a new two-year, $4.8 million because he can bull his way to the basket -- might be playing in the wrong league.

"He should be playing in the NFL," Love said. "He'd probably make more money."

Newly signed David Harrison and veterans Jason Collins and Calvin Booth -- centers all -- remain out because of injuries, so the Wolves forge ahead with nobody bigger than 6-9 in a league where Kevin McHale not so facetiously says anybody taller than that anymore is "terrible."

On Thursday night, the Wolves faced a Toronto team that plays Chris Bosh, Jermaine O'Neal, Kris Humphries and Andrea Bargnani -- all power forwards at most -- at center. On Tuesday, they played a Chicago team that had 6-7 Andrea Nocioni at power forward.

Bargnani, a 7-footer who plays like a small forward, stepped outside Thursday night to score a game-high 22 points in the Wolves' 90-86 victory at Air Canada Centre.

"A little less height and a little more girth nowadays," Wittman said, referring to league trends. "Everybody plays that way. Tonight, you've got Bargnani and Humphries at the '4' [power forward] and Humphries at the '5' [center]. Who's the 4 and who's the 5? It's changing that way a lot."

Jefferson notices that, too.

"I kind of hate that," he said. "I still like the 4 and the 5 being real big. I'm kind of an old-school guy. But the game changes."

In Jefferson's perfect world, he'd be the power forward, his natural position.

"That's right," said Jefferson, who played center in Thursday's starting lineup and did so most of last season.

Harrison, the Wolves' comparatively super-sized center at 7 feet and 280 pounds, hasn't joined full practice yet because of a calf he strained during a free-agent workout with the team last month. Collins remains out until November while his surgically repaired elbow heals.

"I want to get a big guy because we're going to need size, too," Wittman said. "Hopefully, we can get somebody healthy enough soon to see what we have."

Until then, the Wolves rumble forth.

"Their guys might be more tall and thin," Smith said. "We're shorter, but we're hard to get around. If we put our bodies on their guys, we should be fine."

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