Saturday, October 21, 2006

Preseason: Wolves 85, Bulls 83

The Bulls dropped their first preseason game to the Wolves on Friday night.

Eddie Griffin had 17 rebounds, 1 block, and 8 points in 29 minutes of play.

"Consistency is the thing that make the players who they are in this league," Garnett said. "The thing with 'E' is making sure he's still motivated and letting him get some touches. Every player wants to feel like he's part of the team... . When you do that with him, he's more than welcome to block shots and do all that. You've just got to keep him motivated."

"You wish every player was rah-rah, but that's just not his personality," coach Dwane Casey said. "I've seen the focus from Eddie. He's done everything we've asked him to do."


From Steve Aschburner:
There was a bit of tension late in this one. As Minnesota missed 14 of its 15 shots in the fourth, the Bulls whittled a 70-60 deficit to just 83-81 with 18.3 seconds left. With 15 seconds on their shot clock, the Wolves put the ball in Foye's hands and he dribbled around the arc before veering inside to draw a foul. The rookie made both free throws with 1.3 seconds left.

Coach Casey on Foye's performance:
"He did what he does best, which is get into the paint and create," Casey said.


Garnett on why he thinks Ben Wallace is such a great player:
"Some people just cut the grass," Garnett said, revving up, "and they're like, 'Phew, that's it. I ain't going to plant the flowers, chop the wood, cut the grass, hit the hedges and rake the leaves -- and then I've got to rake the little scraps up from when I cut the grass? I ain't going to do all that stuff.'
"That's why Ben Wallace works in this league. He uses the broom. He uses the rake. He sweeps. He doesn't take the blower and blow it. If you're a country boy, you understand that."