And then it wasn't.

The Timberwolves would lose seven of their next eight games, a stretch bad enough to get long-time Coach Flip Saunders, the NBA's second most-tenured coach after Utah's Jerry Sloan, fired. Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale didn't have to go far to find Saunders' replacement, choosing … himself, on an interim basis. After losing his debut to Chicago, McHale led the Timberwolves to back-to-back wins over New Jersey and Cleveland at home entering the All-Star break to get back to .500 for the season and begin a run at a playoff berth.

Again, the Timberwolves stumbled coming out of the All-Star break last night in Los Angeles. After not making a deadline deal (though possibly not for lack of trying), Minnesota dropped a costly 92-86 loss to the Clippers to slip below .500 for the season. More troublesome long-term, while the Timberwolves got Sam Cassell back from a strained right hamstring, they saw backup big men Eddie Griffin and Michael Olowokandi suffer injuries. Griffin broke a finger and is out indefinitely, while Olowokandi hyperextended his right knee and is listed as doubtful pending an examination today.

The bizarre thing is that, for the Sonics, Cassell being in the lineup may be the good news on the Minnesota injury front. In the Jan. 21 matchup, the Timberwolves destroyed the Sonics by eschewing centers Olowokandi and Ervin Johnson in favor of spreading the floor with multiple shooters. McHale has given Olowokandi heavy minutes (28.2 mpg over the last five games), and his possible absence would mean more smallball, which hurts the Sonics. (Griffin, on the other hand, did hurt the Sonics in Seattle.) As far as the point is concerned, Troy Hudson has been lethal against the Sonics because of his quickness. Hudson had 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting in Seattle, and while the Sonics have improved their defense of dribble penetration of late, Hudson remains a primary concern. While Cassell is a headier player and a vastly superior distributor than Hudson, at 35 and with his hamstring bothering him, Cassell is not nearly as dangerous in terms of dribble penetration.

The Sonics return home for a brief one-game homestand before taking to the road again for three games in the Midwest. Coach Nate McMillan implored his team after the All-Star break to re-focus at the defensive end of the court, and the results were tangible as the Sonics swept a two-game trip, allowing just 85 points in both games. The Timberwolves - who, for all their troubles, rank seventh in the NBA in Offensive Rating (averaging 104.6 points per 100 possessions) - will be more challenging for the Sonics renewed defensive vigor.

G U A R D S
	Hudson's success against the Sonics is nothing new. Two years ago, when he was a full-time starter before Cassell's arrival in Minnesota, Hudson averaged 20.3 points per game against the Sonics, shooting 51.6% from the field. Hudson hasn't been as successful against other teams this season; journeyman Anthony Carter started ahead of him when Cassell was first sidelined, and Hudson is shooting just 37.8% from the field. Since he's not a pass-first player like Sonics point guard Luke Ridnour, Hudson needs to be scoring and doing so efficiently to be an effective player. Neither Hudson nor Cassell is known for their defense, and Ridnour is averaging 14.0 points in two matchups with the Timberwolves while shooting 71.4% from the field.
	After starting 74 games last season, Trenton Hassell has bounced around this year, starting 24 times in 55 games. Hassell has actually been more effective, scoring more points in fewer minutes, but he's still a non-scorer, averaging 11.3 points per 48 minutes. When Cassell was scoring 20 points per game, the Timberwolves could afford to have a non-scorer alongside him, but now it's more of a luxury. Hassell is still valuable because of his defense. Sonics All-Star Ray Allen has averaged 24.5 points against the Timberwolves, but is shooting just 33.3% from the field in those two games (14-42).
F O R W A R D S
	If Saunders were particularly bitter and vindictive about his firing (er, "reassignment"), he might blame Latrell Sprewell, whose averages in points (12.7), rebounds (2.7), assists (2.3) and steals (0.7) per game are all career lows. They're also all out of line with his star status, but, then again, Sprewell didn't deserve equal billing in the "Big Three" of Cassell and Kevin Garnett a year ago. Sprewell is still a dangerous streak shooter who has topped the 20-point mark 11 times this season, but he's been held under double-digits a whopping 23 times and just isn't that valuable when he's not scoring. We've been promised "a new Rashard Lewis" in the second half of the season, and so far Lewis has delivered with 49 points in two games.
	The NBA's MVP a year ago, Garnett is posting a similar season this year but has no chance of matching those accolades because of how bad his team has been. There is some evidence that Garnett may be wearing down under the load of carrying his team night in and night out; his February averages of 18.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists are all well below his season marks. Garnett scored just 14 points on 6-for-16 shooting last night against the Clippers and confessed to TNT's John Thompson that losing is wearing on him during an emotional interview conducted shortly before the All-Star break. It's unfortunate, because Garnett continues to be arguably the league's best player, but that hasn't been enough for the Timberwolves this season. Sonics forward Reggie Evans' streak of grabbing double-figures rebounds eight times in nine February games has pushed him to 12th in the NBA in rebounds per game (9.4).
C E N T E R
	One-time Sonics center Johnson is nearing the end of the line on a career that has probably already lasted longer than the Sonics expected when they took Johnson with the 23rd pick of the 1993 Draft. Johnson's per-game averages the last two years (1.4 ppg and 2.6 rpg this year) have been microscopic for a starter, but he's still gotten the call 18 times in his 37 games because he remains a good rebounder (13.6 rebounds per 48 minutes) and plays within himself, shooting 52.6% from the field. Sonics center Jerome James had a strong effort the last time the Timberwolves were in Seattle, finishing with 11 points (on 5-for-7 shooting) and six boards in 20 minutes before fouling out.
B E N C H
	One of the more intriguing questions tonight is how the KeyArena crowd will respond to Minnesota swingman Wally Szczerbiak (right), who won no Seattle fans with his childish antics during the last meeting, including pounding the ball high into the air at the end of the third quarter. Will fans remember? It seems hard to forget, especially after Szczerbiak made the memory indelible by adding a season-high 34 points. Garnett and Szczerbiak have been the Timberwolves only consistent scoring threats this season, and Wally World has scored double-figures in 19 straight games. Cassell managed just 10 second-half minutes last night, but did score five points during that time. Up front, if the Timberwolves are without Olowokandi, backup big man minutes will have to fall to John Thomas, who has been unproductive but mistake-free (a la Johnson). Shooter Fred Hoiberg, the only NBA player who can be safely expected to make every three he attempts (at 51.0%, he's the only player making more than half his treys and leads the league by a wide margin over Jason Terry (46.0%)), rounds out the rotation. Antonio Daniels (left) led the Sonics reserves Wednesday in New Orleans with 11 points, eight assists and three steals. Vladimir Radmanovic continues to struggle with a sprained wrist, missing six of seven shots against the Hornets, while Danny Fortson's availability is in question, though he will be with the team despite briefly flying back to Pittsburgh to rejoin his ailing grandmother. Rookie Nick Collison has filled in well for Fortson, recording seven points and five boards without missing a shot on Wednesday.

TEAM LEADERS ALLEN GARNETT Allen 24.0 PPG Garnett 22.0 Evans 9.4 RPG Garnett 13.8 Ridnour 6.1 APG Cassell 5.7 Ridnour 1.3 SPG Garnett 1.5 James 1.3 BPG Griffin 1.7 Allen 39.7 MPG Garnett 38.7