Timberwolves: Scorers forced to shift gears
Steve Aschburner, Star Tribune
October 5, 2005



At its best, NBA defense is 19,700 people at Madison Square Garden
back in the day, chanting in unison for what generally is considered
the less sexy half of the game.

It is the San Antonio Spurs moving and working, five as one, in a
system greater than the flaws of any individual defender. It is
Dikembe Mutombo wagging an index finger after a block, ball-thief
Larry Hughes racing north with everyone else pointed south and Ben
Wallace altering shots with a scowl, his biceps and that 'Fro.

At its best, NBA defense is something with which the Timberwolves
have had only passing familiarity in recent seasons.

That explains new coach Dwane Casey's agenda and his opportunity in
the preseason this month.

"The biggest challenge is to come in and establish a defensive tone,
a defensive identity for this team," Casey said. "Mainly because
defense wins in team sports."

Casey estimated that the Wolves would spend about 60 percent of
their time in training camp working on defense. If true, they must
have some shoot-a-thon practices coming up just to get the average
down, because the first session of the first day had a lot more D
than O.

"This whole practice was defense," rookie center Dwayne Jones said
after the morning workout. "It is a grind. That's like the grunt
work, the dirty work. But that's where we build our foundation."

It's where the Wolves need, and have room, to improve. Offensively,
led by Flip Saunders -- otherwise known as the Coach of 1,000 Sets --
the Wolves traditionally got good shots and plenty of points. But
they rarely put equal pressure on opponents at the other end.

Some of Minnesota's defensive stats were average, some were worse.
The Wolves ranked seventh in opponents' field-goal percentage
(43.8), ninth in points allowed (95.3) and 19th in defensive three-
point percentage. They also set NBA single-season records for fewest
steals (460) and fewest turnovers forced (963).

Hardly a bother

One reason for those dubious distinctions was the team's lack of
quick, feisty, athletic perimeter players able to pester ball
handlers. Another, though, was a back-burner emphasis to, and a lack
of consistency in, protecting their basket.

"It's not like the coaches didn't coach defense," Wally Szczerbiak
said. "It's just that our confidence wavered a little bit with all
the changes we made ... One time we lose doing it 'this' way, one
time we win doing it 'that' way."

Under Casey, the Wolves will try to simplify and stick with one
plan. Good team defense requires all five players to react to
situations in the same way, every time. It also can cover for a
teammate who is less talented defensively or finds himself in a high-
wire matchup.

"Individual defense is important, of course," Szczerbiak said. "You
want a guy like Trenton [Hassell] who can lock down the leading
scorer and cause the other team a lot of problems.

"But Trenton, if he doesn't feel like he has big guys who are going
to block shots and guards who are going to help on screens and
switches, then it's tough on him. A whole is a lot stronger than a
single [player]."

One point of emphasis Tuesday was handling pick-and-roll plays, a
source of chaos for the Wolves last season.

"It was an invitation to get into that blue paint and totally break
down the defense," Szczerbiak said. "We were trying everything to
keep them out of there, but nothing worked. We've got to come up
with one way to do it, get good at it and realize the goal is to
keep the guards out of that paint."

So they worked Tuesday on forcing the dribbler to the baseline and
rotating efficiently. Also addressed was transition defense, another
trouble spot in 2004-05. Frequently, the Wolves were not quick
enough getting back.

None of this figures to be much fun, all of this effort and sweat
without the ball. It's like showing up at Ferrari U. and spending
all day on parallel parking. But Casey wasn't concerned.

"I think they all understand. They're all men," he said. "They're
not going to learn it all in one morning. It's a progression. By the
end of the October, we should be pretty good at it."

Familiar faces

Clem Haskins, one of Casey's mentors, is assisting the new head
coach at camp. And so is Trent Tucker, another former Gopher and an
NBA marksman who can aid some of the Wolves' shooters.