When you look at Kevin Garnett's numbers, it's hard to criticize him. Garnett averaged 24 points and 18.7 rebounds as his Minnesota Timberwolves were swept out of the first round by the Dallas Mavericks. Those are All-Star stats.

	The playoffs have been no slam dunk for Kevin Garnett and the T-Wolves.

But if we criticize Texas Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez for the money he makes and what his team doesn't do despite his MVP-like numbers, shouldn't Garnett get the same scrutiny?

Garnett is the highest-paid player in the NBA ($126 million contract, $22.4 million this season). But he has yet to make it past the first round of the playoffs. In fact, this is the T-Wolves' sixth straight first-round exit.

Granted, they play in the West, without question the tougher conference. Still, Minnesota owned the league's second-best record at the halfway point, and then lost 22 of 42 to kiss a home-court advantage goodbye.

Of course, A-Rod -- baseball's highest-paid baseball player at $252 million -- can't pitch and only hits once in every nine Ranger at-bats. But one player can make a huge difference in basketball. One guy can singlehandedly lift a team's spirits, whether it's Tracy McGrady of the Orlando Magic or Baron Davis of the Charlotte Hornets. Perhaps Michael Jordan is the best example of a single player surrounded by average talent (with the exception of Scottie Pippen) who wills them to victory.

If you pay someone that much, you ought to get a better return on your investment. And Garnett's salary has handcuffed Minnesota financially. Because of the realities of the salary cap, all the dollars going to Garnett can't be spent on other players needed to build a championship franchise. Besides, the T-Wolves were already handcuffed by the Joe Smith debacle, when GM Kevin McHale's improper contract arrangement with Smith was discovered and the NBA's penalty was the loss of draft picks.

Garnett has been criticized for disappearing in the fourth quarter. He was 1-of-5 from the field in the fourth in Sunday's Game 3 loss. Still, it's tough to take a guy to task who plays as hard and as unselfishly as Garnett. He's so unselfish that T-Wolves coach Flip Saunders told me last year that Garnett needed to be encouraged to shoot more. Imagine that: How many NBA players do you have to encourage to shoot?

Garnett needs to be more like Allen Iverson. Sure, Iverson sometimes will take more shots than he should, but he also wills the Philadelphia Sixers to victory, as he did Sunday vs. the Boston Celtics. Tim Duncan got his San Antonio Spurs to play Saturday without the services of David Robinson, and they beat the Seattle Sonics on the road. It's almost as if Garnett hasn't found that elusive extra gear -- that playoff gear, the urgency that asks, "What do I need to do to win today?"

Garnett's salary makes him the good and the bad news for this franchise.

It's true that successful playoff teams generally have had more than one superstar. Magic Johnson had a Hall-of-Fame group with him when he won five NBA titles with the Lakers, as did Larry Bird when he won three with the Celtics. The T-Wolves have Joe Smith at center, who disappeared against the Mavs. Wally Szczerbiak has proven to be a solid complementary player, but former Celtics first-round pick Chauncey Billups has lacked consistency. Losing Terrell Brandon to injury certainly hurt.

With Szczerbiak as Garnett's sidekick, the T-Wolves can't match up against either the Kobe/Shaq combo or Dallas' Big Three (Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley). As this series demonstrated, it's no contest.

Looking down the road, there's not too much Minnesota can do with the roster because of Garnett's immense salary. Which makes him the good and the bad news for this franchise.

What needs to be done? Does coach Saunders pay the price? But how much can a coach do? Does Szczerbiak get traded in an attempt to retool the lineup? Something must be done, because six straight losses in the first round isn't coincidence, it's habit-forming.

Given the T-Wolves' roster right now, it appears that it's a recipe for more postseason disaster next season: Welcome to the playoffs, gentlemen -- we hope you enjoy your first-round stay.