Acquired from Memphis in the deal that brought rookie forward Kevin Love and shooting guard Mike Miller to the Timberwolves, Collins got his third consecutive start at center Friday night against the Boston Celtics.
The eight-year veteran didn’t set the world on fire in his first two starts against Denver and Philadelphia, totaling three points and seven rebounds, but his stabilizing presence in the middle helped the Wolves earn a split after a 1-7 start.
“He’s a guy that’s not going to hurt you while he’s out there,” Minnesota coach Randy Wittman said. “He’s not going to do anything that’s going to wow you, but he’s a guy that knows how to play and is usually in the right spots.”
In the third quarter, after a big Celtics run, Garnett got all excited. He crouched low, pumped his fist and roared. All of this happened about three feet from Wolves owner Glen Taylor, who was sitting courtside in one of those expensive seats no one wants to buy.
“I didn’t know that,” Garnett said. “But who cares?”
Clearly not Garnett, who received a ton of love from the Target Center fans. He wanted to let everyone know that he really appreciated it, too, which I thought was classy. But it’s easy to be magnanimous when you’re a member of the championship Boston Celtics.
Wolves reserve guard Rashad McCants did not play Friday because of a bad back. He left Wednesday’s game against Philadelphia in the second quarter because of spasms.
Veteran guard Kevin Ollie missed his second consecutive game because of an injured calf.
Former Celtics Ryan Gomes and Al Jefferson, plus forward Kevin Love, are among the Minnesota prospects.
“[Jefferson] is a terrific kid, a joy to coach,” Rivers said before the game. “If you look at where he was when he started with us, and where he is now, it’s awesome to see. He’s become one of the top-scoring bigs in our league. I feel part of it as far as our relationship, but players have to do the required work to be great. All of us give them a list to work on, and Al did all that. It was that work in the darkness, by himself, that’s what makes guys better.
