Aggressive and Productive
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This is more like it, Ryan Gomes occasionally muses, as the Timberwolves answer a dreadful 2-14 December by winning nine of their first 11 games of the New Year. This is what Gomes envisioned when he punctuated his first, albeit uneventful, scamper through free agency last summer by signing a three-year deal to remain with the Timberwolves, the team that acquired him the year before from the Celtics.
While the postseason is still considered a long shot, and three weeks does not a season make, Gomes and the Timberwolves are finally looking in the mirror and liking what they see.
Whether it has been the coaching change or the slightly softer schedule or the mere fact that even average wine takes some time to age, Gomes likes what he sees from himself and, more importantly, his team as we turn the proverbial corner in the road that is the 2008-09 NBA season.
“Coming into the season, this is what I thought,” Gomes said. “I thought we were going to be an up-tempo, fast-break team, knowing that we still had a big guy to go to in the half-court set. If we keep playing the way we’re playing, I don’t know what the limit will be.
“The tempo is much different. We had a tendency in the beginning, when teams scored baskets on us; we walked it up the court a lot. It was more of a slow grind. Now when teams score, we’re trying to get a lay-up in transition and pushing the ball. We like playing that way.”
The lethargic response to the opposing team’s playmaking abilities was, well, a buzz kill.
“The habit we had before is when teams scored on us, we’d walk the ball up,” Gomes said. “If a team scores, that’s going to happen. It’s not like we’re going to beat a team 99-0. We have to put those plays behind us. We might mess up defensively and they might score but that play is over with now. You can’t get the play back. You can’t rewind it. You’ve got to move on. That’s why teams were scoring on us. Now, it’s worked in our favor a few times... we bust the floor up. The quicker we get another basket on the board, we forget about those plays immediately.”
And Gomes and his teammates have bought into that philosophy.
“We just had to believe that what we were being taught by the coaches would work eventually,” Gomes said. “That’s what led to us being on this roll.”
The resurgence at Target Center can’t be pinpointed on just one thing. Sure, the coaching change from Randy Wittman to Kevin McHale may have given the team a needed shot in the arm. Naturally, Randy Foye’s elevated game has given the team a boost it lacked. And, yes, admittedly, the Wolves haven’t been facing the league’s laundry list of elite teams recently. But Minnesota is taking care of its business on a nightly basis — against good teams and bad — because of the aforementioned factors and improved games from players like Gomes.
“You’ve seen Ryan Gomes and his aggressiveness level has been taken up a notch,” teammate Mark Madsen said. “All the extra repetitions, all the small things that Ryan’s been doing as it relates to his diet, the extra weight-lifting sessions to probably all the extra mental repetitions behind closed doors has become crucial to him really becoming a defensive stopper as well as taking his scoring to another level.”
In seven games from Dec. 15-29 (starting with a 1-point clunker against Sacramento), Gomes averaged just 7.1 points despite playing more than 30 minutes per game. In the ensuing seven games (from Dec. 30-Jan. 13) Gomes averaged 15 points per game in slightly less minutes. Included in that stretch was 21 points in a win against Golden State and 19 points each in a loss at Dallas and a win at Chicago.
“He has been taking good shots all year,” McHale said. “I’ve been telling him they’re good shots, so keep taking them. They’ve started to drop. He doesn’t take bad shots. You’ve got to have faith if you do the right thing, if you take the right shots, they’ll go in. Over time, all that stuff seems to work its way out.”
His teammates have noticed.
“Confidence, he’s just playing with a lot more of it,” Jefferson said. “At the beginning of the year, I felt like he got down on himself too much. Now if he misses a shot, he’ll come right back and take that same shot and knock it down. That’s exactly what we need from him. Ryan playing like that ... man, that doesn’t do anything but help us.”
Foye, whose resurgence has coincided with Gomes,’ as well as the coaching change, describes Gomes recent play as unconscious. “He’s not thinking,” Foye said. “If it’s open, he’s just letting it go.”
Gomes attributes his dramatically increased production to being in a different state of mind.
“Just being more aggressive, that’s it,” he said. “I know all the plays. I know the shots are coming for me. I’ve got to be a little more aggressive when they kick it out to me and not just settle for shots. I need to try to attack the basket and make plays for everyone else. If I’m attacking, now they’re worried about all of us. It changes everything up for our team.”
Gomes admittedly was optimistic before the season had begun. But then a numbing November followed by a dismal December dashed the optimistic expectations. That, of course, has given way to a new year that so far has shown a glimmer of hope.
“When you look at San Antonio, the Pistons, and the Phoenix Suns, they’ve been together for a while,” Gomes said. “If the group that we have right now is together for a while, hopefully we can turn things around here. If we’re together four, five or six years, there’s going to be something very special here that Minnesota’s been waiting to see. I’m confident that we can do it.”
While the postseason is still considered a long shot, and three weeks does not a season make, Gomes and the Timberwolves are finally looking in the mirror and liking what they see.
Whether it has been the coaching change or the slightly softer schedule or the mere fact that even average wine takes some time to age, Gomes likes what he sees from himself and, more importantly, his team as we turn the proverbial corner in the road that is the 2008-09 NBA season.
“Coming into the season, this is what I thought,” Gomes said. “I thought we were going to be an up-tempo, fast-break team, knowing that we still had a big guy to go to in the half-court set. If we keep playing the way we’re playing, I don’t know what the limit will be.
“The tempo is much different. We had a tendency in the beginning, when teams scored baskets on us; we walked it up the court a lot. It was more of a slow grind. Now when teams score, we’re trying to get a lay-up in transition and pushing the ball. We like playing that way.”
The lethargic response to the opposing team’s playmaking abilities was, well, a buzz kill.
“The habit we had before is when teams scored on us, we’d walk the ball up,” Gomes said. “If a team scores, that’s going to happen. It’s not like we’re going to beat a team 99-0. We have to put those plays behind us. We might mess up defensively and they might score but that play is over with now. You can’t get the play back. You can’t rewind it. You’ve got to move on. That’s why teams were scoring on us. Now, it’s worked in our favor a few times... we bust the floor up. The quicker we get another basket on the board, we forget about those plays immediately.”
And Gomes and his teammates have bought into that philosophy.
“We just had to believe that what we were being taught by the coaches would work eventually,” Gomes said. “That’s what led to us being on this roll.”
The resurgence at Target Center can’t be pinpointed on just one thing. Sure, the coaching change from Randy Wittman to Kevin McHale may have given the team a needed shot in the arm. Naturally, Randy Foye’s elevated game has given the team a boost it lacked. And, yes, admittedly, the Wolves haven’t been facing the league’s laundry list of elite teams recently. But Minnesota is taking care of its business on a nightly basis — against good teams and bad — because of the aforementioned factors and improved games from players like Gomes.
“You’ve seen Ryan Gomes and his aggressiveness level has been taken up a notch,” teammate Mark Madsen said. “All the extra repetitions, all the small things that Ryan’s been doing as it relates to his diet, the extra weight-lifting sessions to probably all the extra mental repetitions behind closed doors has become crucial to him really becoming a defensive stopper as well as taking his scoring to another level.”
In seven games from Dec. 15-29 (starting with a 1-point clunker against Sacramento), Gomes averaged just 7.1 points despite playing more than 30 minutes per game. In the ensuing seven games (from Dec. 30-Jan. 13) Gomes averaged 15 points per game in slightly less minutes. Included in that stretch was 21 points in a win against Golden State and 19 points each in a loss at Dallas and a win at Chicago.
“He has been taking good shots all year,” McHale said. “I’ve been telling him they’re good shots, so keep taking them. They’ve started to drop. He doesn’t take bad shots. You’ve got to have faith if you do the right thing, if you take the right shots, they’ll go in. Over time, all that stuff seems to work its way out.”
His teammates have noticed.
“Confidence, he’s just playing with a lot more of it,” Jefferson said. “At the beginning of the year, I felt like he got down on himself too much. Now if he misses a shot, he’ll come right back and take that same shot and knock it down. That’s exactly what we need from him. Ryan playing like that ... man, that doesn’t do anything but help us.” Foye, whose resurgence has coincided with Gomes,’ as well as the coaching change, describes Gomes recent play as unconscious. “He’s not thinking,” Foye said. “If it’s open, he’s just letting it go.”
Gomes attributes his dramatically increased production to being in a different state of mind.
“Just being more aggressive, that’s it,” he said. “I know all the plays. I know the shots are coming for me. I’ve got to be a little more aggressive when they kick it out to me and not just settle for shots. I need to try to attack the basket and make plays for everyone else. If I’m attacking, now they’re worried about all of us. It changes everything up for our team.”
Gomes admittedly was optimistic before the season had begun. But then a numbing November followed by a dismal December dashed the optimistic expectations. That, of course, has given way to a new year that so far has shown a glimmer of hope.
“When you look at San Antonio, the Pistons, and the Phoenix Suns, they’ve been together for a while,” Gomes said. “If the group that we have right now is together for a while, hopefully we can turn things around here. If we’re together four, five or six years, there’s going to be something very special here that Minnesota’s been waiting to see. I’m confident that we can do it.”
