The Timberwolves' first half of the season fell well short of their goals.

The most striking admission of that mediocrity came when they traded Wally Szczerbiak, a longtime fan favorite who was having a career season, to the Boston Celtics on Thursday.

As they prepare to face Szczerbiak and the Celtics tonight at Target Center, the Wolves are desperate to fix their season, plagued by inconsistency and the inability to win close games. With the team struggling at 19-21 at the time of the trade, Szczerbiak became the casualty.

"If we had won a number of those close games, we probably wouldn't have thought about doing the trade," owner Glen Taylor said. "Looking at the results, which were below our expectations, we felt we had to do something. Wally was a player other teams wanted."