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By Gordon Simpson

When you watch Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop you know that, no matter how good a cop he actually is, when it gets to the end he is going to need someone to help finish off the bad guy who's about to put an end to him.

When watching Kevin Garnett or Tracy McGrady in recent years you got the same feeling, but with one important difference - you knew the help wasn't coming. You just had to feel sorry for them, knowing that however well they performed, they would always bomb out in the first round of the playoffs, because Minnesota and Orlando for the last few years have been the definition of the one-man team.

Despite constantly making All-Star teams and being highly considered for the MVP award, the championship dreams of Garnett and McGrady have long been compromised by the inability of their respectcive teams to surround two of the elite talents in the NBA with the sort of help they deserve. Finally, however, during this off-season, the organizations have made the long-awaited effort to bring in help.

In McGrady, the Orlando Magic possess the most talented player in the Eastern Conference, but there was little else available in the Magic talent pool for most of last year, especially with Grant Hill's serious injury problems. However, the acquisition of Gordan Giricek and particularly Drew Gooden strengthened the Magic enough to make them a threat in the playoffs, before blowing a 3-0 lead against Detroit in the first-round.

Despite that heart-wrenching loss, the Magic had laid some solid foundations for the future. They have certainly built on these during the current off-season, with the capture of guard Tyronn Lue and forward Juwan Howard through free-agency. Lue should be a dependable player for the Magic, who lost guards Darrell Armstrong and Chris Whitney to free-agency. Howard is the crucial acquisition though, as it finally brings a proven second scorer to back up McGrady and a solid inside presence which was severely lacking. Howard averaged 18.4 points per game last season with the Denver Nuggets and should improve on this with the Magic, which would excellently complement the 32.1 points per game average that McGrady achieved last season. At 30 years of age, Howard will bring some experience to one of the youngest franchises in the NBA. Louisville guard Reece Gaines, who was acquired with the 15th pick in the Draft will bring some useful versatility with his ability to play at either point-guard or shooting-guard, although his contribution will probably be limited while in his rookie year. The good news is that McGrady can now look forwards to help even after he returns from his international duty with the USA basketball team.

The Minnesota Timberwolves came out of last season with a lot of credit, despite falling at the first playoff hurdle. Having won 51 games during a very impressive regular season, they were desperately unlucky to end up playing the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, but even then they produced some excellent performances and almost dethroned the then champions before the San Antonio Spurs finally ended their reign.

In fairness to Minnesota, Garnett did have support from Wally Szczerbiak, who produced some sound back-up scoring and sank some exhilarating buzzer-beaters to win some extra games for the Timberwolves, but there was still too much of a void for a serious run at a championship. This has certainly been rectified over the summer by General Manager Kevin McHale who has assembled an array of talent to surround the Big Ticket. Michael Olowokandi moved from the Los Angeles Clippers and that gives the Timberwolves an excellent presence at the centre position, which is vital if they are to have any aspirations of winning the Western Conference. Latrell Sprewell has been introduced to fill the shooting guard position and although Sprewell never fully realized his potential while at the Knicks, averaging 16.4 points per game last season, his move to Minnesota will provide a fresh start and put some serious class around him.

Perhaps the most important move on the Timberwolves part, however, was acquiring the veteran point-guard Sam Cassell. Cassell is a constant threat and a natural scorer, averaging 19.7 points per game last season. With the Kings, Mavericks, Spurs and now the Lakers possessing supremely talented point-guards, the capture of Cassell could be one of the most important moves in the history of the franchise, especially as he knows what it takes to win an NBA Championship. Make no mistake, the Minnesota Timberwolves are going to be a fierce team this year, and a probable line-up of Garnett, Szczerbiak, Olowokandi, Sprewell and Cassell can compete against anyone.

So what are the chances of the 2004 NBA Finals seeing the Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Orlando Magic? I would have to say that the chances are slim, as the Western Conference is unbelievably strong and the New Jersey Nets still look impressive in the East, but the Timberwolves have been armed to the teeth this summer and the Magic possess enough talent to compete for the Eastern Conference title, so although it may sound slightly far-fetched, it is by no means an impossible scenario.