Eight .500-plus foes looming on schedule for T-Wolves...(sportingnews.com article)

Eight .500-plus foes looming on schedule
MARCH 10, 2001

Whether it was a bad omen remains to be seen, but the Timberwolves' loss at Miami on Friday was certainly a bump in the road for Minnesota. It was a game the Wolves could have won, but a 10 1/2-minute scoreless stretch in the second half doomed them. It was very uncharacteristic for Minnesota, a team that rarely is contained so completely for any length of time.

The biggest postgame questions revolved around the Wolves' upcoming schedule and how Friday's loss might affect them. The game in Miami kicked off a stretch of five games in seven nights, including four games on the road and two sets of back-to-back contests.

The Wolves have played only two back-to-backs over the past two months, so the challenge is there. After a Satuday game at Orlando, they return home to play the Heat again Monday, then go to San Antonio and Dallas.

The March schedule begins with eight consecutive games against .500-plus opponents; of their remaining 21 contests, only five are against teams currently below the .500 mark.

Looking back rather than ahead (for the time being), it's clear that the Wolves have been very fortunate on the injury front all season. Miami has already lost 215 man games because of injury this season, and the Wolves have a grand total of nine -- five by Chauncey Billups and four by Terrell Brandon, both with sprained ankles.

Kevin Garnett, Wally Szczerbiak, LaPhonso Ellis and Sam Mitchell have played in all 61 games, and Anthony Peeler missed two because of a death in his family. And that's it.

The team's good health is the main reason why forward Andrae Patterson has been on the injured list all season and guard Sam Jacobson has been there most of the season. Both are ready to play. Tim Hammonds is the one true injured player, dealing with a painful ankle condition as a result of a long career pounding up and down the hardwood.

The most impressive thing on the injury front is that Brandon, Billups and LaPhonso Ellis -- all injury-prone in their NBA careers -- have remained so healthy. The Wolves' medical staff should be commended, and possibly a rabbit's foot or two, also.


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