go to MSN.com
  autos     money     sports     tech     more    
  MSN home  |  Mail  |  My MSN  | 

Miami Heat's mission: contain Timberwolves' Al Jefferson

by Sarah Rothschild, The Miami Herald , The Miami Herald


add this RSS print
Jan. 13--After starting its season-long, seven-game trip 1-2, the Heat faces a must-win of sorts against Minnesota on Tuesday night.

A few weeks ago, the Timberwolves probably looked like an appealing foe. But Minnesota (11-25) has won five in a row, its longest winning streak since December 2005. On this trip, the Heat (19-17) lost to Denver and the Los Angeles Lakers, and Wednesday plays in Milwaukee before ending with back-to-back games against Houston and Oklahoma City.

"We went to the Clippers, who weren't playing that well and we lost that game, we lost in Memphis," Heat forward Udonis Haslem said. "We know we can get beat by anybody."

Tuesday's challenge: Contain Minnesota center Al Jefferson.

"[He's] a big monster in the middle," Heat forward Shawn Marion said. "I'm pretty sure we're going to have to send double-teams at him."

Jefferson is averaging a team-high 22.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Orlando's Dwight Howard and San Antonio's Tim Duncan are the only other players in the league averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.

PRACTICE OPTIONAL

After arriving at its hotel around 6 a.m. central time Monday from Los Angeles, the Heat's practice was optional.

The nine players who participated in Monday's optional workout at Target Center were: Marion, Haslem, Marcus Banks, Yakhouba Diawara, James Jones, Chris Quinn, Jamaal Magloire, Joel Anthony and Mark Blount. Rookies Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers, and second-year guard Daequan Cook lifted weights.

TUESDAY: Heat AT Timberwolves

When: 8 p.m.

Where: Target Center, Minneapolis.

TV/radio: Sun Sports; WINZ (940 AM), WQBA (1140 AM, Spanish).

The series: Heat leads 20-17.

To see more of The Miami Herald or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.herald.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Miami Herald Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

Copyright 2009 The Miami Herald
 
Terms & Conditions     Privacy
Copyright © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Please note by clicking on "add a comment" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Use and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Be polite. Inappropriate posts may be removed by the moderator.

 advertisement

FOX SPORTS NBA VIDEO

Thunder beat the Heat
Hear from Jeff Green after the Thunder's 100-87 win over Miami. Green had 13 points and 2 boards in the win.
Jennings drops 55, Bucks win
Bucks rookie sensation Brandon Jennings talks about his 55-point outburst against Golden State. Milwaukee won the game, 129-125.

 advertisement

Statistical Information provided by: STATS LLC
© 2009 Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved.