Tuesday Practice Report
Jonah BallowWolves Editor/Writer
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All smiles at the practice facility on Tuesday afternoon as the Wolves look to bottle up the positive feelings from the victory over Denver. Minnesota jumped out to a 14-0 run in the third quarter on Sunday to quickly reverse the momentum against the Nuggets and the squad displayed consistent play throughout the second half. When attempting to find the magical potion behind the improbable turnaround, head coach Kurt Rambis reaffirmed the simple execution of the offense led to the comeback win.
"Denver got off to a terrific start. We missed a lot of easy scoring opportunities to keep ourselves closer but they made a lot of tough shots too. That combination of those two things led to our deficit. Our guys spent more time in the second half paying attention to what our gameplan was and doing the right things in terms of individual defense and help defense but a lot of it had to do with our willingness at the offensive end to move the basketball so the guys felt good about themselves and the positive attitude carried over to the defensive end. It's amazing what happens when you see the ball go through the basket and how much energy it lets you have at the defensive end," Rambis said.
The Wolves have little time to bask in the glory of their victory with Grizzlies heading to town on Wednesday night. During the previous two practice sessions, the coaching staff now has visual evidence to show the team prime examples of their work paying off.
"I think our guys learned or made a bigger step forward in the process of understanding what they have to do as a team in order to give themselves a chance to win," Rambis said. "I don't think they're overconfident by any stretch of the imagination. The lessons that they learned where they did the right things, gameplan wise, and their attention to detail at the defensive end and then offensively, they did a terrific job of keeping their spacing and moving the basketball and for the most part, executing the offense properly."
Love Report
Six weeks ago, Kevin Love suffered a broken finger on his left hand in a preseason game against Chicago. Fans and this Wolves squad are eagerly anticipating his return to the hardwood floor. At practice on Tuesday, Love ran sprints on the sidelines to continue the conditioning process as he waits for the green light from the doctors.
"He's got some contact under his belt for two days, so that's always a good thing," Rambis said. I haven't talked to our trainers yet on how he feels after today's practice. He was doing a great job running but the wrestling aspect of basketball is very fatiguing and that's what he is trying to push himself through now. It's my understanding he is supposed to be evaluated by our doctors on Wednesday or Thursday."
Shooting Mechanics
For the first time in his career, Brewer is working to restructure his jumper. Fans may see inconsistency in Brewer's field goal percentage but the shooting guard is spending countless hours with the coaching staff.
"We believe he can be a very good open shooter," Rambis said. "With his speed and ability to attack the basket, if you make those open shots then people run at you and then you pump fake, now you can get inside the interior of the defense. It's those concepts that he is trying to develop and break that habit that he had of always leaning back."
Brewer is beginning to see the results of a focused approach to shooting, "I'm feeling better, I had a couple of pretty good games, I only had one game where I didn't shoot it well, so it's working. It's all about staying on balance; the balance is the main thing on my shot."
The Wolves will shootaround tomorrow morning in preparation for a contest against Memphis at 7 PM.
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