A year ago, it was all about the postseason for the Timberwolves.
Which, to put it in Seinfeldian terms, wound up as a big, fat show
about nothing.

For a Wolves team picked by many to return to the Western Conference
championship round, possibly even to the NBA Finals, the 2004-05
regular season was a necessary evil, something to be navigated and
endured as a prelude to the serious action.

That relegated the team's October preseason schedule to the category
of nuisance; veterans and coaches who thought they knew what they
were capable of mostly saw the exhibition games as needless exposure
to injuries.

And it all worked out so well, right?

Now, with a new head coach, a half-dozen new assistants and 10 new
faces on the current roster, the Wolves aren't thinking about the
playoffs. They can't afford to daydream about the season opener Nov.
2. They are in no position to scoff at or coast through eight
preseason games.

"Last year, everyone was thinking about the long run," Wolves center
Michael Olowokandi said Tuesday. "What you're mostly trying to do
this year is concentrate on the process and not looking too far
beyond.

"I know basketball players say all the time, 'One game at a time.'
Maybe that will mean something this time and we'll truly play one
game at a time."

Eight days into the Dwane Casey era of Wolves basketball, the focus
still is on defense. Was, is and will be, in fact, as Casey and his
staff drill their vision of rotations and help defense into players
whose interest at that end of the court, to varying degrees, tended
to stray.

"It's like every teammate is attached by a string," forward Mark
Madsen said. "Kandi Man [Olowokandi] is attached to KG, who is
attached to Troy [Hudson], who is attached to Trenton Hassell. And
we're moving with each other and we're rotating, and we're
understanding concepts. There probably are going to be some kinks and
some mental lapses on our part, but that's why we have the exhibition
season."

Actually, Casey rated the Wolves' defensive progress, on a scale of 1
to 10, at "6.5 or 7." He wasn't happy with some slippage in Tuesday's
practice, sensing the players were distracted by the preseason
opener. But Casey added: "You're not going to learn it in a week.
We're close to where I thought we would be, but we've got to get
better."

Said Olowokandi: "The sooner we learn this and understand what we're
supposed to do, and we're automatic and play it like clockwork, the
better it will be for us."

Defense, though topping Casey's agenda tonight, isn't the only item
on it. He plans to dip into his bench heavily in the first few
exhibitions, partly to save the first string some wear and tear but
partly to gauge who, and what, he has in reserve with Eddie Griffin,
Rashad McCants, Anthony Carter and Nikoloz Tskitishvili.

Offensively, Casey will be watching for ball movement and smart
spacing for an efficient attack. And he won't be paying all that much
attention to the Bucks, another retooling team with new faces -- No.
1 draft pick Andrew Bogut at center, free-agent addition Bobby
Simmons -- and high hopes.

"We play them again, so we want to make sure we do get [Milwaukee's
plays]," Casey said. "But as far as pulling my hair out over winning
or losing, no, I'm not going to do that. For me, it's a practice and
a chance to make sure some guys get some work in."

Jaric injured; Olowokandi apologizes

• Guard Marko Jaric probably will not play after turning an ankle in
practice. Casey said that even if the newly acquired combo guard said
he had recovered, he probably would hold Jaric out as a precaution.

• Olowokandi apparently apologized to his teammates for missing the
team's public scrimmage Saturday in Chaska, and he shared that
sentiment with reporters. "I'm truly sorry for not being there," he
said