Timberwolves-Nuggets: Lockout Ball In Full-Effect (Damn't Martell!)

(Don't adjust your screen, that really is Martell Webster's haircut.)

Feeling flustered, exasperated, or generally disgusted? You may have spent your Monday night watching the Timberwolves-Nuggets game. Coming in to the game, things were looking up for the Timberwolves considering the Nuggets were injury depleted, and playing on the second night of a back-to-back in which they Oklahoma City Thunder ran them up-and-down the court in an overtime loss. And for a while, things appeared as if they were shaping up to go in the Timberwolves favor when Ty Lawson and Andre Miller both left the game in the second half.

Then we forgot that our young pups were too on the second night of a back-to-back, on the road, and at a higher altitude. OK, fine, if you don’t like the altitude reasoning – which is a completely plausible thing – then consider they were without sudden-star center Nikola Pekovic for the second half. So, while it may seem like the game was the Timberwolves’ to lose, nothing was certain tonight. Even when they got up by 14 before the end of the 1^st half before the Nuggets came charging back.

Simply put, the Timberwolves just ran out of gas. Now, not to make excuses, but have you noticed the condensed schedule is putting a stranglehold on the quality of play as the season wears on? We’re seeing more sloppy play, and teams flat-out wearing out during games more than usual. For an upstart team scrapping for a playoff spot, not having more than 2-days rest (aside from the All-Star break) until early April takes the level of difficulty up a couple of notches. It’s a grind, and it’s not going to get any better, so we may as well deal with it and just be grateful that we have any basketball. If the Wolves are going to make a run, they’re going to have to make the most of any chances to rest key players, and hope for a few breaks along the way.

Now, before I wrap this up, I’d like to talk about Martell Webster’s dunk in the final seconds off of the steal. As we know, the Wolves were down by 3 and a 3 would have tied it up. Webster had two choices: 1) Pull-up for a quick and possibly off-balanced 3 with defenders trailing him or 2) Drive it to the rim for the higher percentage shot and draw what would be a dumb Nuggets foul. Let’s face it, neither was a great option, and really, it’s a dicey situation for a team to put themselves in a position for one play to decide the game. In all reality, if he pulls it off, we’re talking about what a gutsy play Webster made and how he may be the answer at the shooting guard. Many fans talking about the play after made it seem like it was a sure thing that Webster would have nailed the 3 anyway. I mean, he is shooting 30% from 3 this season!

Instead, the Nuggets did the logical thing of allowing the Timberwolves to score any shot that was inside the arc, and also to make sure that they didn’t give Webster a 3-point play. Yes, I know, logic tells you that if you’re down by 3 with little time remaining, you take the 3, but attempted to get those 3 points in a much more uncommon way. Aren’t you at least a little glad they didn’t have their 30% 3-point shooter attempting the game tying shot with multiple defenders around him? Again, if he gets fouled, this is a non-issue. Actually, it's the game winner should Luke Ridnour have made his wide open layup, but this isn't about finding one player to make the scapegoat. These last two paragraphs may earn me some heat in the comments section, but I just want to attempt to explain that particular sequence.

You know what would have been better than either of those, and not blowing a 14-point lead? Not going 2/16 from the floor in the final 7-minutes. Again, it’s a shock things even got to where they did, but the Nuggets shot 25% in that stretch too, meaning that the Wolves just couldn’t put them away. So, this game was blown long before Webster’s decision.

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Derek can also be found on Twitter: @Derek612