Wolves' Pecherov learning his lessons on end of bench

Oleksiy Pecherov got the word and the tap on the shoulder with 2 1/2 minutes left. It was one of those ignored-all-night, called-on-at-the-bitter-end moments that, if it happened like that with Allen Iverson, would trigger a tantrum. You and I both know of players past and present who would refuse to budge, warmups and ego intact, rather than sub in for the first time with their team down by 17 and 150 seconds left. A good ol' DNP-CD would seem preferable to token minutes at garbage time.

Unless there was a statement being made. Unless there was a challenge being issued. Unless Pecherov's performance and energy and even body language in those late, meaningless moments of the Minnesota Timberwolves' 107-84 home loss to Portland Wednesday were being watched as closely as anything he did exactly one week earlier.

That night, in a giddy star-is-born outing, the 7-foot, third-year power forward from the Ukraine scored a career-best 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting with eight rebounds in a matchup with Boston's Kevin Garnett. There was an unusual ferocity in Pecherov's face -- fans of "Family Guy'' marvel at his resemblance to sleepy-eyed Stewie -- and a bounce in his thick legs and thinner, slightly hunched shoulders, in the Wolves' two-point loss to the Eastern Conference contender.

Then, just 168 hours later, Pecherov's playing world had turned upside down. He got in long enough to gather one rebound, airball one 3-pointer and literally not break a sweat. Three years in, it was another welcome-to-the-NBA episode for Pecherov.

"It's hard of course,'' he told me afterward. "It's the coach's decision. He sees it this way. I just want to keep working and prove him wrong. He puts me in, I've got to go. I think I do my best. For some reason right now, I didn't play much. I'm going to keep working hard and see what's going to happen.''

Let's note here that this isn't just a tale of Pecherov, who went from budding folk hero to neglected reserve in a span of four games over seven days. This is a tale of a dozen Pecherovs around the league every season, especially at this time, especially on teams like Minnesota with so many more questions than answers.

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Earlier in the evening, Wolves head coach Kurt Rambis had talked about the seemingly endless hurdles before him, his staff and their young, amorphous team. He talked about Pecherov in particular, too, but switch the name, switch the position and there are guys throughout the league that would fit in his comment.

"One game is not a breakthrough,'' Rambis said. "Any player in this league is capable of playing a good game every once in a while. It's very difficult to be consistent in this league. There are things that he does well and there are things he does poorly. He has to continue to work on the things he does poorly in order to get time. He plays a position that demands intense defense, team and individual, and intense rebounding, and intense responsibility in terms of how we execute our offense. Some of those things are not done correctly. It's not productive for him, it's not productive for the rest of us.''

In the clipped way Rambis said "intense,'' "correctly'' and "productive,'' you could almost hear a doghouse being constructed plank by plank, slat by slat, for the 23-year-old big man. But Pecherov's very reduced role against the Trail Blazers wasn't all a message to him. Ryan Hollins started in the spot Pecherov had held in five of Minnesota's first seven games to counter Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge with both length and energy. They both are bigger factors because Kevin Love is out with a broken finger on his left hand. The Wolves, now 1-8, still are searching for the starting lineup and bench rotation that make the most sense.

Yet Pecherov's play had dipped, too. In the first four losses of the current eight-game streak, he was a cumulative plus-6 as Minnesota was outscored by a total of 30 points. In the past four games, Pecherov is minus-33 in shorter minutes and the Wolves are a minus-102 overall.

For players such as Pecherov -- little-used in his two seasons with Washington despite being the No. 18 pick overall in 2006 -- Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 Opportunities, though any one guy won't get nearly that many chances. Then again, it also is the Land of 10,000 Hard Lessons. Some come from success, others from setbacks and sitdowns.

"It's always fun when you're playing,'' Pecherov said. "When you feel trusted and get playing time. You get in the game, do good things, get some stops, get some shots. It's exciting. This is why you play basketball. Everybody wants to play, everybody thinks they are good players.

"It's always hard when you start to play a little bit, then you're back on the bench. It's a mental problem. You've got to be mentally tough and get through this.''

Pecherov, given his shooting range, had been given almost a green light to launch 3-pointers through the preseason. When he did that and missed badly in a game at Chicago, Rambis found him at the next whistle and gave the player an earful. Not to take that shot? No, to take it with more confidence. After the Boston game, Rambis labeled him a "parasite'' but in a good way, welcoming Pecherov into an NBA fraternity of players who thrive off teammates' efforts and that numbers Rambis among its alumni.

But the message minutes Wednesday were a different sort of embrace from the boss.

"It's difficult for anybody to go out after sitting all game,'' veteran journeyman Brian Cardinal said. "But the sign of somebody's character is going out there and playing [hard]. It's not up to us what minutes we get. The only thing we can control is how hard we play.''

Cardinal had talked with Pecherov on the bench, and gave him a pat on the back as the younger man peeled off his warmups somewhat reluctantly. "I had told him, 'At some point you're probably going to get in in the fourth quarter. Like it or not. So you're going to have to play hard.' I'm sure it's to give some guys rest but it's also, hey, let's see if he plays hard. That's not just with Pech, that's across the board. Other GMs, other coaches, they all watch. You go out there, you get a few minutes, you get a couple rebounds, you take a charge. Unfortunately, that's the role people have to play. Fortunately, you get into an NBA game."

Cardinal knows all about making the most out of the least. "You've got to stay ready, you've got to put in the time prior to the opportunity,'' he said. "There are so many guys in this league who wait for the opportunity to present itself and then they come in and do extra work, then they do extra running. That's too late.''

For Pecherov and for all the players like him every season.

Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA for 25 years. You can e-mail him here.

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