<div align="center">@ <font color="Red">Portland Trailblazers </font> (32-33)(Away: 11-21) @ <font color="DarkGreen">Minnesota Timberwolves</font> (46-20)(Home: 25-9)</div> Time and Date: 3:30 pm ET, Sunday, March 14 Venue: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN Season Series: Por: 2 Min: 1 Previous games: Portland 83, Sacramento 81 Lakers 86, Timberwolves 96 Head Coaches Flip Saunders/Maurice Cheeks Probable Starters Sam Cassell/Damon Stoudamire Latrell Sprewell/Derek Anderson Trenton Hassell/Darius Miles Kevin Garnett/Zach Randolph Micheal Olowokandi/Theo Ratliff 6th Men Troy Hudson/Shareef Abdur-Rahim Injury Update <font color="Red">Portland</font> Travis Outlaw Knee Vladimir Stepania Knee <font color="DarkGreen">Minnesota</font> Ndudi Ebi Knee <font color="Red">TRAIL BLAZERS STATISTICAL LEADERS</font> Points Z. Randolph 20.4 Rebounds Z. Randolph 10.8 Assists D. Stoudamire 6.1 Steals R. Patterson 1.21 Blocks D. Davis 0.84 FG% Z. Randolph .482 FT% D. Stoudamire .868 3PT% D. Stoudamire .361 <font color="DarkGreen">TIMBERWOLVES STATISTICAL LEADERS</font> Points K. Garnett 24.7 Rebounds K. Garnett 13.9 Assists S. Cassell 7.6 Steals K. Garnett 1.44 Blocks K. Garnett 2.12 FG% K. Garnett .497 FT% S. Cassell .880 3PT% F. Hoiberg .443 <div align="center"><u>Players to Watch</u> <font color="Red">Zach Randolph:</font> 20.4ppg 10.8rpg 2.1apg 0.55bpg 0.86bpg <font color="DarkGreen">Kevin Garnett:</font> 24.7ppg 13.9rpg 5apg 2.12bpg 1.44spg</div> First Meeting: Jeff McInnis tallied 21 points and Wesley Person scored 16 of his 20 in the pivotal second quarter as Portland ended the Wolves' six-game winning streak with a 101-92 decision on Dec. 26 at the Rose Garden. Kevin Garnett had 27 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Minnesota, while Sam Cassell added 23 points and Latrell Sprewell chipped in 21. Second Meeting: Kevin Garnett netted 26 points and 14 rebounds, and Latrell Sprewell scored 19 of his 25 points in the first half as the Timberwolves cruised to a 96-75 triumph over Portland on Jan. 8 at Target Center. Sam Cassell finished with 10 points and 11 assists for Minnesota, while Mark Madsen chipped in 10 points. Zach Randolph led the Blazers with 19 points and Jeff McInnis tallied 15. Last Meeting: <u>Wednesday, Mar. 10</u> ? Portland 92, Minnesota 79 Damon Stoudamire tallied 28 points -- including six 3-pointers -- to lift Portland past the Timberwolves, 92-79, on Wednesday night at the Rose Garden. Minnesota scored the game's first nine points before Stoudamire broke the ice for the Blazers four minutes into the contest. The Wolves led 19-16 after one quarter, and extended that to 25-18 early in the second on Kevin Garnett's dunk. However, Minnesota managed just three points over the next five minutes and Portland outscored the Wolves 18-4 in the paint to claim a 43-33 halftime advantage. Derek Anderson pushed the Blazers' lead to 14 midway through the third before a Garnett basket cut the deficit to 61-54. Stoudamire ended the comeback with a 3-pointer, igniting the game-deciding 19-5 surge that left Portland in front 80-59. Stoudamire sank two more treys during the onslaught, which was capped by Dale Davis' jumper with 7:25 remaining. Zach Randolph finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers, while Anderson tallied 13 points and Ruben Patterson chipped in a dozen. Minnesota was led by Garnett's 20 points, with Sam Cassell contributing 15 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. <font size="4">Game Note:</font> <font color="Blue">The Wolves are 6-2 in their last eight Target Center meetings with Portland, and have won 11 of the last 17 overall dating to January 2000. The 21-point win on Jan. 8 is Minnesota's largest ever against the Blazers. The Wolves have gone 16-42 all-time vs. Portland; they're 9-19 at home and 7-23 in Oregon.</font> <font size="1">NBA.com</font> Keys to game: <font color="Red">Portland:</font> Stop the outside attack (The Wolves are an excellent perimeter team.) Damon Stoudamire (If he can play like the last time both teams met,he could help the Blazers win this one) Getting key rebounds Don't let Spree get hot. Stop Garnett ( It's always a good idea to try and contain KG) Transition Defense <font color="DarkGreen">Minnesota:</font> Zone defense (Very critical in this game. Must play solid defense and must make them make bad passes) Get the ball down low (We seem to settle for a lot of jumpers, we need to get it in the post more.) Ball mouvement Troy Hudson (He has helped the team alot off the bench.) Get a good rotation ( Flip will need to do this.) Sprewell needs to take smart shots ( If he doesn't, he will hurt the team chances of winning) <font color="Blue">My Prediction:</font> Min 107 Por 96
At this time, I don't believe the Wolves have lost any tie-breaking scenarios, and I don't expect them to start now. We're gonna need some serious ball movement due to the shot-blocking ability of Ratliff. I would love for KG to throw one down on him to show why he's rated so highly. Another thing is to close the driving and watch the passing lanes, so they can't dish for the high-percentage shots (which is what killed the Kings). Overall, SHOULD be a good game (but if Flip doesn't adapt if we're having issues, I expect another frusterating loss). Wolves by 7 if he does, Blazers by 4 if he doesn't.
Timberwolves will be prepared this time, so I don't see us losing this one. I'm going to say Timberwolves by 6.
Blazers are a good team, but the Wolves are coming off a huge win. The Wolves hava not only a great starting lineup, but a great bench to turn to when they are in trouble. Wolves just need to get the boards, and keep playing their game and they should have this one. Wolves by 8.
I hope the Wolves have learned from their loss against them the other day and their hope their win against the Lakers gave them some confidence. I go with the Wolves by 10
Sam needs to play some defensive this time. He sagged off Damon all night & Damon killed them from the perimeter. Sam needs to get up on Damon & keep his hands up. Dont allow Damon good looks from the outside. Hopefully EJ will stay apart of the rotation. He proved his wealth in the game against the Lakers, he is needed for his ablity to help on weakside penetration. Bench points will be key again. The Wolves were effective because they got point production of the bench against the Lakers. The Wolves are a different team when the pressure isnt just on the Big 3 to score 20points each. Flip needs to keep the rotation shortened like it was against the Lakers. He has choosen Madsen as the backup 4. He needs to keep it that way. And bring Sam back in the game with 9:00 minutes left in the 1st like he did against the Lakers. Wolves should win this game if they can control the boards against the Blazers big front line.
Blazers can pull this one off if they try hard as they did in Portland, but Minnesota has Kevin Garnet and Sam Cassell who can do some real damage, even as much as I want the Blazers to win, I would go with the Wolves on this one.
Minnesota can't take anyone lightly, because the Blazers just beat Sacremento. Minnesotta has to come out strong, take te lead and keep pounding at the Blazers. I think KG can hold up my main man Randolph, and the Wolves should also watch Shareef, you never know when he'll do something. I say the Wolves win by 4 in a vert close thriller, the Blazers seem to always put up a good fight, WATCH OUT FOR RATLIFF.
I think Hassell should guard Stoudamire. I hope Flip realizes this as well. Mighty Mouse lit it up against the Wolves last time. I hope the Wolves will come up strong take the W. Also, I guess our guards should make the most damage tonight, because the Blazers front line is quite strong. I hope Cassell, T-Hud and Spree will be hot tonight.
Portland seems stronger after the Shareef - Rasheed trade. I'm hoping the Wolves play well in a matinee game for once. Us European fans would like to see the Wolves do really well so come playoff time we feel confident in our team.
When can we know what to expect from this team. How can a team that was so great at home last year change this much. We don't seem to have an advantage when at home. Right now, the only reason to really try if for the division crown, and to give KG the MVP. The SPurs lost, so we don't lose ground on them, but the #1 seed is stretched a little farther from our reach. My personal goal is to try to match-up with Denver so we can get out of the first-round. Denver goes to 6th, we go to 3rd. The Wolves have not been able to show consistency in their game play. And if the "ship isn't righted" soon, fans will think about their 2nd favorite team instead of the usual Minnesota team choke.
We are 21-4 in the last 25 home games. I think that is pretty good. You lose faith to easily. Portland has been on a hot streak and are lighting teams up, including the Kings. We just beat the Lakers, so we can still contend. If you lose faith this easily, you're not much of a Wolves fan.
What a dissapointing loss.They lost against the Trailbalzers again and lost by 9.They will have to play better and get out of this slump.But I believe and hope they can do this sooner than later.The wolves are now 3 and a half games behind the Kings.I hope they don't lose home court avantage because of the Trailblazers.
What I dont understand is what does Flip have against EJ, once again no resistence at the basket & the lost the rebonding game to Portland. EJ is needed for both with weakside D & Rebounding. Portland is to big to play both Maddog & Trent. But this game was lost at the free throw line. Portland got to the line alot. The wolves never got there pretty much. When your top 3 players combine to only take 10 free throw you arent going to win.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting twolvefan11:</div><div class="quote_post">We are 21-4 in the last 25 home games. I think that is pretty good. You lose faith to easily. Portland has been on a hot streak and are lighting teams up, including the Kings. We just beat the Lakers, so we can still contend. If you lose faith this easily, you're not much of a Wolves fan.</div> If masochism is your thing, then go ahead do what you gotta do. Have you not seen the last 7 first-round exits. You'll understand someday that fans get tired of their favorites underacheiving year after year. Especially when they are embarrassed. Will I ever faulter in backing my team? NEVER. But a person hates the feeling of disgust when their team is, OUT-COACHED AND OUT-HUSSLED. Last years Twins Playoffs. Last years Vikings. 1998 Vikings Championship, Vikes versus NY Giants. I'll always love the Minnesota franchises and believe the Wolves COULD do something special, but when you start to see signs that resemble those that have led to past failures, it's only human to become cynical. Any, any, ANY good team is going to lose a game here and there (except the 16-0 Dolphins), but how often do you see a good team embarrased. I believe we're as good a the Kings, but they continue to win while we stumble, and the only reason we're not in the 3 or 4 seed is because the Spurs have been losing as well, and they are without Duncan. Being able to correctly rotate your players can be just a useful as having the greatest talents on your roster. And the reason that I brought up the home stand is because all you heard was "The Wolves have an advantage over alot of other teams, because after the all-star break, they have a large amount of games at home" and they are not cashing in on that. So next time, keep your opinions about who is a fan or not to YOURSELF. Thannnk You.
