9/3 ESPN Insider - Troy Hudson ..odd man out

[OutletPass]

Hudson may become forgotten man
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Wednesday, August 13


Don't blame yourself if you've already forgotten that Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Troy Hudson averaged 23.5 points per game in the playoffs last year.


The Minnesota Star Tribune reported today the Timberwolves rescinded their qualifying offer to Mike Wilks after the point guard asked to be released because he knew what Hudson knew and what Sam Cassell and the rest of the franchise already knew when Kevin McHale rebuilt the team over the summer.

Wilks knew that Minnesota was no longer the place for a struggling point guard to make a name for himself.

Sam Cassell
Point Guard
Minnesota Timberwolves
Profile


2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
78 19.7 4.4 5.8 .470 .861


Let's see ... we've got 20-point-per-game Cassell starting at point guard, all star Latrell Sprewell at shooting guard, all star Wally Szczerbiak at small forward, MVP candidate Kevin Garnett at power forward and former No. 1 pick Michael Olowokandi at center.

See, we did it, too.

We forgot all about Hudson.

In between the player shuffle in Minnesota and re-reading the stat sheet from last year's playoffs, we realized that the only players to average more points per game than Hudson were, in order, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson, Paul Pierce, Garnett, Shaquille O'Neal, Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan.

Maybe you remember those names?

Hudson averaged more points than the likes of Jermaine O'Neal, Stephon Marbury, Jason Kidd and Karl Malone. He was the second leading scorer on his team during the most important portion of the season. He was the one guy who hit big shot after big shot when no one else but himself would have even dared to take them.

Now, he's the one guy wondering if he still has a position.

After all, the Timberwolves didn't trade away Joe Smith and Anthony Peeler to put Cassell on the bench. He averaged 19.7 points per game last year during the regular season and 17.2 in the playoffs. He averaged another 19.7 points per game the season before that and 19.6 points per game with the New Jersey Nets in 1998. In ten years with five teams, now six, he has averaged 15.9 points per game.

Troy Hudson has never averaged more than 14.2 in a season and that was last year when he set that career mark.

Troy Hudson
Point Guard
Minnesota Timberwolves
Profile


2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
79 14.2 2.3 5.7 .428 .900


And before you start rattling off stats concerning Cassell, Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson, let's remember that Cassell, Gary Payton and Michael Redd also averaged double-digit points when combined in the same backcourt for the Milwaukee Bucks. The same goes for Latrell Sprewell. He survived on a team with Allan Houston and Kurt Thomas in which three offensive forces co-existed.

The difference, though, in all of those cases is that those players ended up being the three highest scoring players on the team.

But with Hudson, Cassell and Sprewell crammed into the guard rotation, the Timberwolves still have their two leading scorers from the season before, Garnett and Szczerbiak, to think about not to mention the expectations that already almost killed Olowokandi in Los Angeles.

There will be nights, many of them, when Cassell will be the fourth leading scorer on the team and Sprewell will be the fifth.

So where does that leave Hudson if he's coming off the bench?

And let's also remember that for all of his great moments last postseason, he never hit stride until he became a bona fide starter, in the game with substantial minutes and not looking over his shoulder. He averaged 1.5 points per game with the Jazz, peaked at 8.8 with the Clippers and went to 11 a game while in Orlando. But even after getting that starting spot in Minnesota, he was still, at best, a streaky shooter and needed those minutes to find his stroke.

Last year, he finished at 42 percent shooting from the field to push his career field goal mark to 40 percent. But as bad as that is, his splits are even worse.

At home, he shot 44 percent but on the road he shot 40 percent. As a starter, he shot 43 percent but as a sub he shot 36 percent. When the Timberwolves won, he shot 41 percent from long range. But when they lost, he shot 29 percent from that distance.

These aren't exactly the numbers you want from a sixthman.

But, then again, most sixthman can't say that they nearly averaged as many points in the playoffs as the two-time defending league MVP.

No, this isn't a question on whether the Timberwolves are going to be better. Not if they are the best team ever assembled in the history of the franchise. Not whether they have their best chance of getting out of the first round for the first time ever.

But whether Troy Hudson will survive all of this success.

[Drbio]

Hudson serves a similar role as NVE's role here last year for the Tpuppies this year.

[Chicago JK]

The Wolves improved themselves this year and probably did the best they could hope for to creep up with the big guys. I don't agree that they have moved past the big 4, but I do think they will be improved. I don't think Wally or Sprewell will sniff another all star game. Wally has really been exposed the last two playoffs. He has been unable to be that second scorer when defenses key on him. Spree and Cassell will help him out there. It will come down to chemistry to the Wolves. Cassell and Spreweell are weird personalties but if they can gell then they will have a very interesting team. Although they still lack the talent and chemistry to play with the big 4.

[Big Boy Laroux]

hudson will be awesome for them off the bench. does this guy not realize that starters don't play the entire game?

[Lonely PSU Mavs Fan]

I think the biggest problem for them is going to be chemistry. It is going to take awhile for those 5 starters to get used to playing together. I think this is where the mavs have everyone beat when i comes to this offseason. Our chemistry wont take long to work out because only one starter is new.

[jayC]

I don't know about the nick role for troy hudson. The twolves have a true three we didn't so finley moved up to the two and three with small ball. Al Harrington and Ron Artest are supposedly on the block according to espn insider chad ford. i wonder if harrington is a fit in minny?

[Rod1975]

Originally posted by: Drbio
Hudson serves a similar role as NVE's role here last year for the Tpuppies this year.

Doc, they're not the Tpuppies anymore....the days of J.R. Rider, Sam Mitchell, Pooh Richardson, Tyrone Corbin and Tony Campbell are long gone my friend.

At least give em the respect of a Twolves or even a Wolves....not sure they're ready to say "Timber" yet but at least give some love.

Sorry it just sorta bugs me, kinda like when the crones on the ticket call our team "the little mavs" ugh!