# Game Thread: Indiana Pacers @ Minnesota Timberwolves



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

* November 9th, 2004 - 7:00 PM (Central Time)*


*Indiana Pacers(3-0) @ Minnesota Timberwolves(2-1)* 



Last game: Indiana - Win, 100-90
Last game: Minnesota - Win, 99-92


*Projected Starting Lineups: *
















































































*Reserves:*



































































Should be a great game, featuring two of the best teams in the league, and featuring two of the best PF's in the league. Possible NBA Finals matchup. The Pacers are a little dinged up right now (Aren't they always?), but they've still won three straight to start off the season. Sam Cassell has gotten off to a slow start shooting 35% from the field, so Minnesota is still waiting for his bust out game. It will be interesting to see who Artest defends, because neither Wally or Sprewell has been putting up big numbers on offense. He'll probably guard Sprewell. The center matchup is rather dull, especially when these are two of the best the league has to offer. No one guy can defend Garnett, but Indiana might have some problems with him if Jermaine O'neal can't give them 30+ minutes tonight.







Prediction: With Jermaine O'neal's health still uncertain and with Minnesota playing at home, I say the T-Wolves pull out a close one: 93-92.



Kevin Garnett - 24 PTS, 18 Rebounds, 4 Assists


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Anyone know if Jermaine O'neal is expected to start?


----------



## RP McMurphy (Jul 17, 2003)

Scot Pollard is the latest Pacer to get hurt, so David Harrison will be our starting center tonight. He is clueless on defense, but that doesn't matter, because Minnesota has some of the worst centers in the league. He'll probably just double-team Garnett all night.

The Pacers are probably going to lose this game, but we've played surprisingly well for a team with so many injuries, so maybe we'll pull out another win.


----------



## RP McMurphy (Jul 17, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>KokoTheMonkey</b>!
> Anyone know if Jermaine O'neal is expected to start?


http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/preview_041108.html



> The Pacers (3-0) are beginning to look like themselves again. Jermaine O'Neal expects to return to the starting lineup against Minnesota (2-1), where he'll square off with friendly rival Kevin Garnett. O'Neal sat out the first regular-season game with a sore foot and came off the bench in the last two.
> 
> "I don't think I'm going to come off the bench this time," O'Neal said. "I really look forward to playing Kevin Garnett because he brings so much to the table. It's a huge obstacle for me because I haven't really played that much this season but I'm up for the challenge and my teammates are up for it and we're going to try to go 4-0 and be undefeated on the road so far."


----------



## The lone wolf (Jul 23, 2003)

We are going to have some trouble this season against teams that have some firepower in their guards. 

I think we are OK against teams which rely on big men scoring contrary to the popular belief. Madsen, griffin EJ and kandi (when his highness feels like playing) are pretty decent post defenders. The problem comes when we play quick guards and wally and cassell are on the floor. They get past them and they are free to do what they want.. pass it to the guy that consequently gets open, put up a floater, pull up for a jumper, crash against the middle for a foul whatever..

Wally tries hard to defend but when he does that he ends up fouling the person. I expect Wally to be traded by the deadline and hassell to start. Hassell and spree kind of shield the interior a little bit. even though hudson is very short he atleast has the quickness to stay in front of his man and make him shoot over him. So wally and cassell should never be on the floor together.

Offense is no problem.. it's automatic. I expect them to be among the leaders in fg% this year too. KG gets the ball in the high post waits for the double team, rest of the guys run around picks, KG pops it to open man he sinks a jumper or makes a pass to the inside and they score. as simple as that

prediction: We win as long as tinsley is kept in check


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Exciting game to watch. 



End of 1, Indiana 32 - Minnesota 26.



Indiana is playing without Ron Artest tonight, but they have looked very good offensively so far. Sprewell has 8 points and 4 assists in the first quarter.


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Eddie Griffin is in the game to start the 2nd quarter.


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Half time: Indiana 54, Minnesota 45



Indiana is dominating the interior on both ends of the floor. Minnesota is having no problems scoring, but they are having problems keeping Indiana from scoring inside the paint. 


Cassell looks like a different player from last year, *so far*. Who knows, maybe he fights it off, but he just doesn't look like that same impact player of last year.


----------



## Pejavlade (Jul 10, 2004)

garnett ft shooting tonight is really low he coud have had 5-7 pts more


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Sam Cassell is MIA. Hudson has played much better than him through three quarters. 


Minnesota is getting abolished on the boards, 39-20. That seems like it's going to be an on going problem, because I don't think Garnett will be able to grab 20 boards a game for this team. Someone else needs to rebound. 




End of 3: Indiana 80, Minnesota 68.


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Minnesota has kept it close all game, and now they've gotten it close with 5 minutes to play. 




Wally and Sprewell are playing nicely.


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Hudson takes it to the basket for two......102-101 Indiana, 33 seconds left. Indiana ball.



Update: Indiana misses, Minnesota rebound with 10 seconds left. 


Flip is probably drawing up a play for Hudson to take it to the basket, because he's been very productive tonight.


----------



## moss_is_1 (Jun 14, 2004)

damn close on but kg didnt seem to have too good of a game tonight so 2-2 now but we'll turn it around


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Wow, Minnesota had a couple of chances to win it, but didn't come through. 



I watched about 75% of this game tonight, and here's my thoughts off the top of my head:



Pros:


- Wally and Sprewell actually produced offensively tonight.

- Hudson played real well.....I don't know why Flip didn't go to him at the end of the game.

- Hassell looks much improved. He's not really an offensive liability.

- Minnesota looked good offensively tonight.





Cons: 



- Sam Cassell did nothing. Tinsley was abusing him for awhile, and Hudson flat out played better. Cassell sat on the bench during the clutch minutes.

- Rebounding. I'm not sure what the final numbers were, but Indiana absolutely destroyed Minnesota on the boards.

- Garnett didn't play well tonight, yet when you look at his stats from the big three categories, you wouldn't notice. He shot Shaq-esque from the free throw line tonight, and he made a couple of bad plays down the stretch. Garnett is freaking good though, no worries here.

- Indiana pretty much controlled the game all the way through, although they were on the road without one of their best players.


----------



## socco (Jul 14, 2002)

I usually don't like to be this negative, but that's the worst game I've seen us play in a long time. We just flat out sucked. Our performance in the first 3 quarters would've got us blown out against the Bobcats, that's how bad it was. But then we just came alive, it was amazing. I'm very dissapointed in Garnett though. For the last shot, where he could've easily made it, but decided to take a fadeaway instead, and for him just flat out playing like sh*t the entire game. I'm very sad/mad after that game. It's not to the point where I'm worried, I have complete confidence that we'll start playing like we should at some time, I just wish it was sooner rather than later.


----------



## Gonzo (Oct 14, 2004)

Good job guys, you really gave us a good game. Well see you for Thanksgiving.


----------



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

i think it is about offiical, im jumping on the brand new! The TRADE CASSELL bandwagon.

with his actually small contract compared to others on the roster, we could trade him for something good! 

or else start t hud....


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>sheefo13</b>!
> i think it is about offiical, im jumping on the brand new! The TRADE CASSELL bandwagon.
> 
> with his actually small contract compared to others on the roster, we could trade him for something good!
> ...




Glad they didn't sign Cassell to an extension?



So far, Cassell has had two decent games against bad teams, and two bad games against good teams. It's too bad that Hudson's minutes have to be limited for now, or he'd be well on his way to getting as many minutes as Cassell.


----------



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

I always thought he was going to be a little sketchy this year, but i was expecting more. I wouldnt mind him being traded at all now. Trade um for a developing pg and a pick. 
A lot of diffrent trades cam to mind while watching the cavs suns game yesterday but here is a trade i wouldnt mind too much.

although it doesnt saound too great, here it is:
wolves trade: 
cassell

wolves get:
wagner
pavlovic
diop
1st round pick

another poped in my head that i would do in a second

wolves trade:
cassell
wally

wolves get:
wagner
big z
pavlovic
diop
1st round pick

roster
pg- t hud
sg-sprewell
sf-hassell
pf-garnett
c- big z

bench
pg- wagner/carter?
sg- hoiberg
sf- pavlovic/ebi/FA(shandon anderson?)
pf- griffin
c-kandi

with a good dominate big man who is a FA after this year, we have a dominate inside presence now.Although the depth isnt there, we can live without it. Guys like diop and big z can really benefit from traning with k.mchale. I think where ever wagner can get a second chance, he will develop into a good ball player. This team still would be a tremendous contender at the title, and for a change, in the future also. Now we can make picks and not have them be 3rd stringers and then leave as FA and kill us in the future. The only con i see really is that big z, wganer, and i believe diop are free agents after this year. Then you can include erv, maddog, griff, and of course spree to that list. We get out of the money hole we are in though. 
If we make the trade, 5 years from now we will be saying: wow we made a great deal, the cavs only have wally now.

here is the thing for the cavs though, they are in desperate need of a scorer other than lebron. that would have to be wally,, wally also played his college ball there, so they arent going to hate him that much.
They also need a starting pg. Mcginnis is supposed to be s 2 and eric is out of it, he is going to be done soon, thats where cassell comes in.....

benefits both teams, what do u think?


----------



## socco (Jul 14, 2002)

Have you guys watched Cassell last season, or the season before, etc. He ALWAYS gets off to a bad start. No need to blow up the team and trade the 2nd best player just because he has his usual slow start, especially when he's coming off an injury. If we trade Cassell we will NOT win a championship this year.


----------



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

a joek right? At this point, with a lot of guys healthy, he really doesnt fit. He cant control himself out there, he puts up too many shots, and plays horrible defense. We need to get younger, and younger soon. Big z will help us break through the west, we have a stud pg in hudson already.


----------



## socco (Jul 14, 2002)

Again, have you watched Sam in the past? Hell, even read about him? Come on now, you're smarter than that. Just look at the numbers, he's always been horrible at the start of the season. Compare Cassell of last year in November to Cassell right now, not Cassell of last season in February or so.


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>q</b>!
> Again, have you watched Sam in the past? Hell, even read about him? Come on now, you're smarter than that. Just look at the numbers, he's always been horrible at the start of the season. Compare Cassell of last year in November to Cassell right now, not Cassell of last season in February or so.




Well, the concern this year in Cassell's hip injury. That's probably why it's more of a concern this time around.


----------



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

exactly, i have seen sammy beofre, i have seen the comparisons of november and the rest of the season. The thing is is that he got hurt, and he could barely walk. He has never really had this type of surgery, probably not surgery at all before. Plus the fact that he is 34. Usually goes down hill from here on out.once again, people around him are healthy, including his backup.Hassell is putting up shots, along with a new shoooter in griffin. It is going to be hard for him to get shots off now. I would at least expect more assists from him, but that isnt working too well either at this point.


----------

