Garnett Vows to Be Aggressive

MINNEAPOLIS —  If all goes as planned for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sam Cassell will play tonight, Shaquille O’Neal will get uprooted from prime position in the key, and Kevin Garnett will never again be compared to a hockey player by his coach.

A lot to ask for, perhaps with the exception of a better game from Garnett.

Garnett endured a subdued Game 1 against the Lakers, scoring 16 points on seven-for-15 shooting Friday and not getting involved enough, Coach Flip Saunders said Saturday.

“We’ve got to get KG more touches,” Saunders said. “It’s not just a matter of him getting shots. He’s got to just be aggressive in what he does either scoring-wise or drawing coverage and creating shots for other people. We’ve got to get him the ball more to make them do things.”

Saunders said after Friday’s 97-88 loss that Garnett had a lot of “hockey assist” plays, crisp passes that led to another solid pass by a teammate for a score. But Garnett, who had averaged 24.7 points in the playoffs before Game 1, will need to do more tonight, especially if Cassell can’t play because of a sore back.

“I know I’ve got to be aggressive,” Garnett said. “But I have to do it smart. I can’t just force it. It’s got to be a situation where I have opportunities and I have to take them. It’s not easy getting 30 and 20, but it is possible. So I have a mind-set of find the open guy and that guy has to make the decision then. But right now I have to be aggressive. I will admit that.”

The Timberwolves’ big men -- Ervin Johnson and Michael Olowokandi, in particular -- will try to be more aggressive against O’Neal, who had 27 points and 18 rebounds in Game 1.

Saunders acknowledged the difficulty in shutting down 340 pounds of will, but he underscored the need to limit O’Neal’s effectiveness by engaging in contact earlier in the defensive end.

“We’ve got to give him more resistance, from the free-throw line,” Saunders said. “We can’t let him walk down and get position. That’s easier said than done.”

Said Olowokandi: “Johnson and I were talking about that today. Shaq had five days off before [Friday] night’s game. That’s probably the freshest he’s going to be.”

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Other than that, the Timberwolves have the Lakers right where they want them.

The Timberwolves have won the last three Game 2s they’ve played, including a 119-91 victory over the Lakers last year in the first round. Minnesota beat Denver and Sacramento in Game 2s this year.

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If Cassell can’t play, former UCLA guard Darrick Martin will pick up extended minutes at the point.

Martin, the only Timberwolf to not play in Game 1, is averaging two points and 6.9 minutes in the playoffs.