http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/basketball/16602801.htm Rashad McCants' return to the Timberwolves' lineup could give the team more scoring off the bench, a little more swagger and a player who can get to the basket and hit three-pointers. It also presents a challenge for coach Randy Wittman. He must carve out minutes for McCants on a team that already is overstocked with guards. McCants, who made his season debut Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings, will be a part of the rotation, Wittman said Thursday. McCants' re-introduction following right knee surgery in June means there will be fewer minutes for the shooting guards. That presents a challenge for Wittman and the players. "Performance is going to dictate that," Wittman said of playing time. "We're trying to work Shaddy in. It's another player. Our guys have to understand that. He can help us. The skills that he has, we don't have anybody out there that can do that. It's a challenge, but we'll work it out." As much as McCants' return could help the team, it also could contribute to a precarious situation. Ricky Davis and Marko Jaric are players whose minutes could dip. Jaric has complained about his lack of playing time, and Davis refused to re-enter a game two weeks ago after he was replaced. "The rotation will go from eight or nine to nine or 10 now," Wittman said. "You can play he and Marko and Randy (Foye) together in that second unit. Since I've taken over, Marko, Trenton (Hassell) and Ricky have shared those minutes. So now those four will share those minutes." McCants said Thursday he doesn't have any preconceived idea about his role or playing time. He said he just wants to help the team win. Said Hassell of possibly sharing time with McCants: "You've got to just play with what's given to you and not worry about that because it's a team sport. He's a great scorer. There's going to be times when some games you're not going to play as many minutes, so you've just got to prepare yourself for the minutes that you get." Don't expect McCants to play a big role right away. He played five minutes in his debut, and the Wolves don't want to rush him back. "I'm going to try to build him up," Wittman said. "I would rather err on the side of caution right now. I believe last year (Amare) Stoudemire played 25 minutes in his first game, and what did he wind up playing, three games?" Stoudemire's first attempt at returning from microfracture knee surgery, the same procedure McCants had, proved to be a disaster. But after taking more time to recover last summer, Stoudemire is averaging 18.6 points and 8.9 rebounds for the Phoenix Suns this season. McCants said he was worried at times during his seven-month recovery. "Some days, I thought I'd be out of the league in two or three years," he said. Those dark days have given way to optimism. McCants said he felt no soreness in his knee after the game. He said he feels he will be a better player down the road. Wittman said he played McCants on Wednesday night in part because the Wolves were listless in the first half. McCants could have provided some energy. "I thought he played under control. He didn't try to (force) anything," Wittman said. "He scored the one layup underneath coming out of a timeout. He executed the play pretty good. We tried to get him a touch." McCants averaged 7.9 points a game last season (12.3 points after the all-star break) and shot 37.2 percent from three-point range. He's not as athletic as he was before the surgery, but Hassell said he expects McCants to find other ways to score. "A talent like that, he can score," Hassell said. "He doesn't have to rely on his athleticism. He can score without dunking on people. He's so strong he can get his shot off. He'll be all right." --

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