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Thursday, April 24, 1997

Timberwolves must overcome generation gap against Rockets

By RON LESKO

AP Sports Writer

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - At age 23 and in his second NBA season, Chris Carr is a savvy playoff veteran compared to most of his Minnesota Timberwolves teammates.

Carr played three postseason games with Phoenix last season. That makes him one of only five Wolves with playoff experience, and he is trying to let his teammates know what to expect when they play the first playoff game in franchise history Thursday at Houston.

"I know a lot of these guys don't want to hear it from me, because I'm as young as a lot of them are," said Carr, a backup guard. "But it is so much fun you just get caught up in it. You find yourself just standing there looking around saying, 'Wow!' "

If the Wolves do that against Houston they will be blown out early.

The Rockets have 644 postseason games among their 12 players. Only starting point guard Matt Maloney and backups Randy Livingston and Othella Harrington, all rookies, haven't played in the postseason.

Minnesota's 12 players have just 133 playoff games among them. That's 36 fewer than Kevin McHale, the Wolves' vice president of basketball operations, and just nine more than Houston's Clyde Drexler.

Terry Porter (84) and Sam Mitchell (36) are the only Wolves who have played more than eight playoff games. The Wolves, who flew to Houston after a workout Tuesday morning, acknowledge those numbers give the Rockets a huge edge but they aren't conceding anything.

"They're a very experienced team, but they're also an older team," coach Flip Saunders said. "They're just one injury away from being a team that's scrambling.

"We're not just saying that we're happy to be in the playoffs. Strange things can happen."

Porter is the only Minnesota player who really knows what playoff intensity is about. He went to the postseason 10 straight seasons with Portland, and was an integral part of teams that made it to the finals in 1990 and '92.

"The whole approach to the game is totally different," Porter said. "But all you can really do is talk to them about it. Guys have to experience it to really know what it's all about."

Minnesota is an underdog Thursday, and most people believe the Rockets will sweep the series. Only the Wolves seem to think otherwise.

"The pressure is on them, but it's pressure they're used to," Saunders said. "Everyone knows how Houston is going to react. No one knows how we're going to react. Sometimes the unexpected is more worrisome than the expected." Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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