‘Wolves Need a Back-Up Plan for Cassell

Half of Sam Cassell was better than nothing, especially when he scored 15 points in that half, raising the question of what the little general might be doing to the Lakers if he were healthy.

Unfortunately for the Timberwolves, he could go only seven minutes in the second half, and only one of those in the fourth quarter, which is when they need him.

Without him, they started the final period five points down and were soon looking at a 17-point deficit, en route to Tuesday night’s 100-89 loss.

No, it’s no way to play a conference finals.

“We’re really missing Sam down the stretch,” said teammate Fred Hoiberg. “That’s where we’re missing him....

“He’s the guy who made it happen for us at crunch time really the whole season. When we don’t have him, that forces other guys to do things they haven’t really done all season. But we do have guys capable of doing that.

“The thing right now, we know he’ll give us what he has and it’s up to the rest of us to be ready if he can’t go. And tonight that was the case again in the fourth quarter. We knew he couldn’t go. Last game, it was in the first minute. It’s going to be a different thing every night for the rest of the series.”

Add it all up and it spells l-o-n-g s-h-o-t, although that’s a point the Timberwolves haven’t conceded.

Without Cassell, the load falls to Kevin Garnett, a great player as opposed to a great scorer. Latrell Sprewell runs hot and cold. Wally Szczerbiak is a No. 2 option. Sam’s their man but their man has his back to the wall, or, more precisely, an electronic stimulator.

“It was a struggle from the beginning,” Cassell said. “I was getting downcourt without a lot of pain....

“Overall, I got 26 minutes out of the game today, which was good, considering my condition....

“It [his back] gets fatigued, having that constant pressure. Me being the point guard, I have to dribble the ball up, get my team into the offense. The Lakers do a lot of cutting, so it gives me a lot of difficulties but that’s the hand I’ve been dealt. That’s the hand I’ve got to play. There’s no complaining about it. That’s just how it is right now.”

Here’s how desperate the Timberwolves’ situation is. Coach Flip Saunders thought about giving Cassell two more days off and bringing him back for Game 4, but decided that if Sam was going to play one and miss one, he should play Game 3, sit out Game 4 and try to return for Game 5 back home.

“Here’s what I think,” Saunders said before the game. “I think if he’s going to be able to play, whether it’s this game or the next game, he might not be able to play the next game.

“So my idea is, there’s no question we have to have him for our next home game, so to rest him and all of a sudden play him on Thursday, and now be in a situation where he can’t play in our home game on Saturday, I didn’t think that that made as much sense.”

Let’s just say it’s a situation no coach would ever want to be in at this point.

Cassell went 19 minutes in the first half, but it was some 19 minutes, making six of his 10 shots, including three three-pointers, and scoring 15 points.

Of course, he was having a problem moving on defense, so it wasn’t purely coincidence that the Lakers were sending Gary Payton at him and that Payton had 14.

Cassell’s back has been tightening up at halftime and did again, so he could play only the first six minutes of the third quarter, taking only one more shot. It was a three-pointer, which he hit, giving him a remarkable 18 points for the night.

He tried to return in the final period -- his fourth-quarter debut in this series -- but lasted only a minute.

“If it [Game 4] was a back-to-back, I definitely wouldn’t be able to play,” said Cassell. Sitting out to rest for Game 5 “is a thought but I don’t want to think that far right now. I just want to come in tomorrow, get my treatment and see what I can do....

“This kind of injury I have won’t get better until after the season. It needs time and that’s something that I don’t have at this present moment.

“But like I said, there’s no complaining. It’s like a game of tonk. It’s the hand I’ve been dealt. I’ve got to play it. I can’t throw it in.”

It’s a great hand. There just aren’t enough cards in it.