The Halftime Report-Los Angeles

The Wolves started their game with the Clippers with the most heart and energy that we’ve seen from them on this road trip. Maybe it was Coach Wittman starting to get through to the players, maybe it was KG sparking his team with his defense or maybe they are just a team who does not want to finish this five game road trip 0-5.

One of the obvious changes under Randy Wittman is in Garnett himself. KG has been notorious throughout his career for taking jump shots from the outside and fading away on his post moves. In the past few games, Garnett is putting his head down and driving to the hoop, forcing the action.

Ricky Davis had a rough start to the game on the offensive end although he was playing decent defensively. It is on nights like this where subbing Davis out for Jaric would be beneficial. As stated before, the combination of Hassell and Jaric has been productive this year. As this paragraph is being written, Coach subs Jaric for Davis with the Wolves lead 21-14.

How great is it to see Rashad McCants in uniform? Even if he does see minutes tonight, he will only play in spurts. McCants’ appearance suited up should hype up Wolves fans. With Mike James struggling with his three-point shot this season, McCants could be that consistent outside threat which is much needed in the Minnesota attack.

Due to the fast start, Minnesota was able to find minutes for Garnett to rest. This obviously is a good thing as Coach Wittman was able to “steal” time. Anytime that can happen, it is beneficial to your team in the second half.

Are the turnovers by the Clippers product of the Wolves defense or were they just not ready to play at the start? Either way, Coach Dunleavy will certainly have them focused coming out of the half so the Wolves will need to match that energy.

Although the offense becomes stagnant at times and spacing can still be an issue, there is more movement in Minnesota’s offense. With a few practices coming up at home, the Wolves can continue to build on what Coach Wittman is preaching. Phoenix, Sacramento, New Orleans and Dallas are coming up for Minnesota, so they need to be quick studies.