Todd Barin
Web Editorial Associate
Sometimes in life, things may seem a lot worse than they actually are.
Yes, the Timberwolves lost 88-78 to the Dallas Mavericks, but according to Wolves interim head coach Sam Mitchell, there were a lot of positives to take away from Sunday’s game.
“We had to remind our guys that even though we didn’t get the win, we did a lot of good things,” Mitchell said. “To hold that team to 38 percent shooting, and there were at least four or five possessions where they had multiple offensive rebounds and we still got stops. If you look at four or five of those 3s, they came off second shots, and that’s when it’s the most dangerous. But our initial defense the other night was as good as it can get.”
Minnesota held a team that ranks 13th in the league in scoring with 103 points per game, to 88 points. Dallas, as Mitchell mentioned, made 38 percent of its shots when it was averaging a 44.5 percent shooting efficiency on the season.
“We did a lot of good things, we just missed open shots,” Mitchell said. “We still have young guys that are still finding their way, I thought Zach again turned down some shots, but again he’s 21, and now think about it, I’m on him to shoot, that’s a good thing. If you call those problems, those are good problems to have, that are guys are unselfish to a fault. That even though the playoffs are not in sight, they are still playing hard, the ball is still moving, the effort is still there.”
Dallas currently ranks eighth in the league in rebounding while Minnesota sits at 28th and last night showed that, with the Mavericks getting to 15 offensive boards. Minnesota, however, is still so young and the players are still growing into their bodies.
“Right now as we’re growing and our bodies our getting more mature, some of the physical stuff we just can’t do anything about,” Mitchell said. "We just can’t. Karl (Towns) goes and gets 21 rebounds and he’s getting beat up, but he goes and gets those rebounds, what are you going to say to him?”
Minnesota will travel to Golden State tomorrow night and take on the Warriors who are chasing history by having the best regular season record in NBA History.
Despite having lost only one game on their home floor all season, Minnesota will look to shock the basketball world and according to Mitchell, finish the season on a strong note.
"I told them a couple of days ago that it’s not always how you start the race, but how you finish," Mitchell said. "Everybody thinks that when you say that, it’s about finishing first, it’s about finishing with class, respect, dignity, professionalism, caring, playing as hard as you can for as long as you can until that horn blows. Now that’s a sign of character. You have 10 reasons not to go play hard for the last five games, but you have to have that one to say why you got to go play as a team and play hard. You are never going to get to where you think you can go if you don’t do it during these times. If you can’t learn how to push yourself during these times, then you’re not going to have what it takes to be a champion"