Wally Szczerbiak, partly because of his contributions and partly by default, ranks among the top handful of players in Timberwolves history more than two decades after the franchise entered the NBA. That said, the KG-and-Wally Era rarely seemed to mesh on or off the court. Despite playing parts of seven seasons together, there was barely any chemistry between the two. For whatever reason, and we'll leave speculation to the wind, they were mismatched. Let's not forget, too, that in the Wolves' one breakthrough season (2003-04), Wally was largely relegated by injuries to a bit role, playing just 28 games and starting none. When either elicited a positive reaction from the other, it was a surprise -- and that's a strange feeling when you are watching two teammates.
KG, of course, is now at the tail end of a magnificent career and is trying to help will the Celtics past the mighty Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. But if there is one on-court trait that has defined him in a negative way for much of his career, it's his apparent distaste for taking big shots in the fourth quarter. His monster night in Game 7 against Sacramento in 2004 helped wipe away some of that angst in Minnesota and some huge games en route to an NBA title in 2008 did the same nationally, but he has also greatly benefited from having teammates more willing to pull the trigger in crunch time (Sam Cassell, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, etc.)
Szczerbiak retired a few years back and is now an analyst for CBS Sports Network -- hired to give big opinions on players exactly like KG.
All that said, it was still somewhat surprising last night when Szczerbiak said this last night on Twitter: KG is another one who lacks the #clutchgene always has!
He must have realized it would fan some flames because this morning the tweet is nowhere to be found (we saved our retweet if you care to have a look).
Instead, he later offered these more focused tweets on KG's performance in Game 2, an overtime loss that very well could spell doom for Boston:
KG was a warrior all game but in OT he was horrible on both ends of the floor tonight!! #NBAPlayoffs
KG never takes big shot for #Celtics now he's fourth in line behind Pierce Allen and Rondo to take clutch shot. Warrior all game though!!
