Timberwolves interim coach Sam Mitchell certainly could see it all too clearly Sunday night at Dallas. His team was on the back end of a back-to-back, and the minutes finally hit home.
"They were exhausted," he said after Tuesday's practice.
He was talking about his team in general. But, in particular, about big men Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng.
Injuries to Kevin Garnett, Nikola Pekovic and Nemanja Bjelica have left the frontcourt thin and forced lots and lots of minutes on Towns and Dieng.
So, with a stretch of five games in seven nights beginning Wednesday at Target Center vs. Washington, the Wolves were forced to get some help. Hours before reaching a buyout with veteran guard Kevin Martin, the team gave Greg Smith — a 6-10, 250-pounder playing for the Raptors 905 team in the Development League — a 10-day contract.
In Smith, the Wolves get a big man with 131 games of NBA experience.
Undrafted out of Fresno State in 2011, Smith has played pro basketball in Mexico and has had a few D-League stints. In the NBA, Smith has played with Houston and Dallas, averaging 4.2 points and 3.4 rebounds.
He should at least allow Mitchell to take some minutes from Towns and Dieng.
Mitchell said after Tuesday's practice that he had already cut down drastically on physical work on practice days trying to keep his players fresh.
"Back-to-backs are harder," Mitchell said of Towns and Dieng. "It seems when we get a day in between, they get a chance to rest a little bit and they're better. But those back-to-backs are hard. … They're giving up size and weight, but they're banging. We have our bigs up in screen and rolls, so we put a lot on our bigs to help the team. It's hard for 'em. But you have to do what you have to do."
Both Dieng and Towns have pledged to do what's necessary, despite the heavy load.
"I'm not going to complain about playing minutes," Dieng said after Sunday's loss to Dallas. "If we need help, that's not my call either."
Said Towns: "We don't mind the minutes. We're trying to do everything we can to help our teammates, help this team win."
Towns and Dieng combined for 42 points in a come-from-behind victory in New Orleans on Saturday. A night later, in a season-worst 27-point loss in Dallas, they combined for 21. Both big men — and, indeed, the entire team — looked tired.
"They jumped on us — which we kind of knew — and we cut it to seven," Mitchell said. "When they kicked it back up I realized the mind was willing, but the legs didn't have it in 'em."
Dieng missed Tuesday's practice for personal reasons. If he is unable to play Wednesday, the addition of Smith would be very timely. In 17 games with the Raptors 905 this season, he has averaged 12.6 points and 8.0 rebounds.
