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By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 09:24 p.m. EST, Dec 15, 2008
For Cavaliers guard Wally Szczerbiak, playing in Minnesota on Wednesday night will almost be like going home. The Timberwolves drafted Szczerbiak in the first round of the 1999 NBA Draft out of Miami University.
He spent six seasons and the better part of a seventh with the Timberwolves before he was traded to the Boston Celtics.
''I have a lot of fond memories in Minnesota,'' Szczerbiak said. ''We had great runs there and we made the playoffs just about every year I was there. What people remember is that we lost in the first round most of the time. It was tough.''
Szczerbiak is in his 10th year as a pro and much has changed in Minnesota.
Most of his former teammates are gone — the most notable of whom, Kevin Garnett, was traded to the Celtics last season and won his first NBA championship — but some things remain the same.
Kevin McHale, a former Celtics great, remains with the organization and is now coaching the team.
Szczerbiak said that McHale passed on some valuable information to him, but it's still tough to see what the organization is going through right now. (The Timberwolves recently fired Randy Wittman and replaced him with McHale.)
''He kind of really helped me become the player that I am,'' Szczerbiak said of McHale. ''He drafted me. He molded me. He kind of schooled me a lot about the game on and off the court.''
Szczerbiak sounded almost envious of the fact that the current Timberwolves will get the benefit of McHale's counsel.
''I don't know how long he's going to be doing it, but right now those guys have to be loving it,'' Szczerbiak said.
He said that McHale taught him some valuable post moves.
The one he remembers most?
''Whenever you've got a little guy on you, don't mess around, just turn and shoot the ball,'' Szczerbiak said. ''That's good advice. That's very good advice.''
Those moves show on the court, Cavs coach Mike Brown said. When Szczerbiak makes a couple of shots in that area of the court, it helps to boost his confidence.
Right now, Szczerbiak could use a couple of those to break out of a shooting slump. He has made just 2-of-20 shots in his past three games.
''It comes in waves,'' he said. ''I started off well and I'm going through a bit of a shooting slump. The main thing as a shooter that you do is you just can't get down on yourself. You've got to keep taking the shot when it's open and hopefully things will work out.''
Brown has no problem with that attitude.
''The shots that he's missed, as long as they're good shots, and most of them are, then I'm OK with it,'' Brown said. ''If he starts forcing shots, if he starts taking bad shots or if he starts hunting shots, then I have a problem. He has not done that.''
Instead, he is looking for Szczerbiak to rebound, especially when the Cavs are playing a smaller lineup.
''It's been a struggle the past couple of games, but I'm trying to do things to help the team,'' he said.
For Cavaliers guard Wally Szczerbiak, playing in Minnesota on Wednesday night will almost be like going home. The Timberwolves drafted Szczerbiak in the first round of the 1999 NBA Draft out of Miami University.
He spent six seasons and the better part of a seventh with the Timberwolves before he was traded to the Boston Celtics.
''I have a lot of fond memories in Minnesota,'' Szczerbiak said. ''We had great runs there and we made the playoffs just about every year I was there. What people remember is that we lost in the first round most of the time. It was tough.''
Szczerbiak is in his 10th year as a pro and much has changed in Minnesota.
Most of his former teammates are gone — the most notable of whom, Kevin Garnett, was traded to the Celtics last season and won his first NBA championship — but some things remain the same.
Kevin McHale, a former Celtics great, remains with the organization and is now coaching the team.
Szczerbiak said that McHale passed on some valuable information to him, but it's still tough to see what the organization is going through right now. (The Timberwolves recently fired Randy Wittman and replaced him with McHale.)
''He kind of really helped me become the player that I am,'' Szczerbiak said of McHale. ''He drafted me. He molded me. He kind of schooled me a lot about the game on and off the court.''
Szczerbiak sounded almost envious of the fact that the current Timberwolves will get the benefit of McHale's counsel.
''I don't know how long he's going to be doing it, but right now those guys have to be loving it,'' Szczerbiak said.
He said that McHale taught him some valuable post moves.
The one he remembers most?
''Whenever you've got a little guy on you, don't mess around, just turn and shoot the ball,'' Szczerbiak said. ''That's good advice. That's very good advice.''
Those moves show on the court, Cavs coach Mike Brown said. When Szczerbiak makes a couple of shots in that area of the court, it helps to boost his confidence.
Right now, Szczerbiak could use a couple of those to break out of a shooting slump. He has made just 2-of-20 shots in his past three games.
''It comes in waves,'' he said. ''I started off well and I'm going through a bit of a shooting slump. The main thing as a shooter that you do is you just can't get down on yourself. You've got to keep taking the shot when it's open and hopefully things will work out.''
Brown has no problem with that attitude.
''The shots that he's missed, as long as they're good shots, and most of them are, then I'm OK with it,'' Brown said. ''If he starts forcing shots, if he starts taking bad shots or if he starts hunting shots, then I have a problem. He has not done that.''
Instead, he is looking for Szczerbiak to rebound, especially when the Cavs are playing a smaller lineup.
''It's been a struggle the past couple of games, but I'm trying to do things to help the team,'' he said.
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