<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Kevin Garnett said after Wednesday night's disturbing loss to the Los Angeles Lakers that the Timberwolves lack an identity. He's wrong. They have an identity: They're wildly inconsistent. They might win a game or two, but just when you think they're hot, they take a U-turn. After getting outscored 34-7 in the fourth quarter against Lakers, squandering a 12-point lead in the process, the Wolves suffered their third consecutive loss, 111-94. Before the current slump, they had won four in a row. These are the same players who led San Antonio by 16 points but collapsed in the second half last week. The same players who shot 61.7 percent against the Lakers through three quarters but were 2 of 19 in the fourth quarter. There are various reasons for their ups and downs. Dependence on jump shooting. Point guard play that's either good or bad, it seems, but rarely steady. The players' lack of focus for stretches. Ill-timed substitution patterns. The Wolves reverted to their jump-shooting ways in the fourth quarter against the Lakers. They stopped attacking the basket. They stopped running the offense. That's part of the reason the Wolves set a franchise low with seven points in the fourth quarter. Twelve Wolves possessions in the fourth quarter featured zero passes, coach Dwane Casey said. Jump shooters can lead to big swings in momentum depending on whether they're hitting or missing shots. The Wolves had one assist in the final period. "Have those players made those shots before in those situations? Yes," Casey said. "And they look good. Like I always say, sometimes that's fool's gold because against good defensive teams, or (if an opponent) makes a good defensive stop, that's not a good shot." It's happened before, and it will happen again this season. The Wolves must live and die by the jump shot, but they also must look for other ways to win when they aren't making those attempts. Rookie point guard Randy Foye struggled in the fourth quarter. He was on the court early in the quarter when the Lakers seized the momentum. He didn't get other players involved or set up the offense properly. Relying on a rookie as the backup point guard is tricky. There are nights Foye plays well and other times when the Wolves have to suffer through his growing pains. Foye faulted himself for his performance against the Lakers. He added that establishing an identity takes time. Only four players remain from the squad that reached the Western Conference finals in 2003-04. "There are a lot of new guys on this team," Foye said. "On that team that made the run, they had an identity then. When you have an identity, you're strong, you're tough because everyone believes in what the identity is and how it works and what guys' roles are. Right now, we're still looking for that. Hopefully we get it turned around as soon as possible."</div> Source
