NBA: Age, Injuries Slowing Down Wolves

In the STAR TRIBUNE, Sid Hartman writes that "a year ago after 44 games, the Timberwolves were 31-13 and playing without injured Wally Szczerbiak. Now the Wolves are 24-20 and seven games behind Northwest Division-leading Seattle. Seven Western Conference teams have better records, and Houston is a half-game behind the Wolves." It's difficult to identify the reason behind Minnesota's struggles, but "Wolves coach Flip Saunders pointed out that his team is getting older as one reason for the recent failures, and he also said the team is banged-up."