Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett pondered the question for several moments Saturday night, cocking his head, squinting, then pondering some more:

"Is there a deeper team than the Wolves right now in the NBA?"

Finally, he answered: "That's a really good question. ? I'm going to have to think about that some more."

What makes the interrogative so dumbfounding is that after witnessing Minnesota's season-high 56-point effort from the bench in Saturday's 116-105 victory at Utah, there might not be. Sacramento is loaded. So is Dallas, after its trading deadline additions. Portland is solid, as in years past.

The Wolves don't boast the flashy names of other teams, and with point guard Chauncey Billups' move from reserve to starter, the Wolves' bench was being outscored by two points a game before their victory over the Jazz.

But with the addition of forward Marc Jackson, the renewed health of forward Gary Trent, the emergence of point guard Will Avery and the late-season energy of veteran Sam Mitchell, Wolves coach Flip Saunders said: "We look at the top teams in the conference, and I think we might be as deep, if not deeper than anybody else, with both size and quickness."

And that's without former two-time all-star Terrell Brandon, out for the rest of the season after knee surgery.