--Nearly three months after Kevin McHale took over as coach, Wolves veteran center Jason Collins is back where he was when Randy Wittman led the team: Starting at center.
Collins now has started consecutive games after he didn't play a minute in McHale's first two months as a coach. He got his chance as soon as Al Jefferson was lost to a knee injury for the season and played here and there in games until McHale inserted him into the starting lineup for Friday's game against Portland and big Joel Przybilla and then kept him there for Sunday's game against Yao Ming and the Rockets.
"Jason comes out and knows what he's doing," McHale said. "He's a great team defender. We're always better defensively when Jason's on the floor."
Collins started nine consecutive games when Wittman was coach, then sat for the next 31 after McHale took over.
"It's part of the job," Collins said. "I've been around long enough to know how quickly things change in this league."
--Wolves rookie Kevin Love followed Friday's two-point, three-rebound performance against Portland with another tough game, Sunday's nine-point, three-rebound night when he repeatedly got his shot blocked inside matched up mostly against 7-6 Yao Ming.
He made four of 12 shots.
"He's a 20-year-old kid, played a lot of games this year," Wolves coach Kevin McHale said. "I assume that wall's going to come up and break his nose a couple of times on the way home here. But you know what? That makes you tougher... Nothing to be concerned about. He'll battle back."
Four months ago, Love sat slumped at his locker after a 1-for-10 shooting performance in a preseason game. Now, he says he has learn to deal with the ups and downs of a typical rookie season.
"My confidence is still there," Love said. "I know that I'm going to be able to bounce back and there will be better times."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "It takes two or three people to stop him. Somebody's going to be open." -- Wolves guard Randy Foye, on trying to defend Rockets 7-6 center Yao Ming.
