Smith's defensive savvy is one of the reasons the Wolves re-signed the forward who, one year ago, was the center of so much salary-cap controversy. His age (26), his height, his resiliency, his willingness to accept a working man's role and his friendship with Kevin Garnett are others.

Miami's visit, with forward LaPhonso Ellis in tow, renewed talk of the two players' merits. Ellis, remember, was a savior of sorts last season, signing in October and stepping seamlessly into Smith's role as first frontcourt player off the bench. Despite his history of injuries, Ellis played in all 82 games, averaged 9.4 points and 6.0 rebounds and finished third in the NBA Sixth Man Award balloting.

The Wolves never wavered, though, in their desire to bring Smith back after his NBA-imposed, one-year exile in Detroit. Once they spent the entire mid-level exception ($4.5 million) on him, they only could offer Ellis a modest raise from his $1.2 million salary. Having already sacrificed once and eager for security, Ellis got a two-year deal from the Heat for double his Wolves' salary.

Smith's performance against Miami was atypical; eight of his 12 points came off outside jumpers and he took no charges. But he blocked a shot, grabbed eight rebounds, got three steals and was his club's most active inside defender. The Wolves outrebounded the Heat, blocked 10 shots, helped cause 20 turnovers and held Miami to 42 percent shooting.

"It's like he never left, really," Sichting said. "He went through our camp last year and we haven't added that much, just a few wrinkles."

How long did it take Smith to feel at home? "First day," he said, laughing.