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Minnesota Timberwolves: Takeaways From Media Day And Real Training Camp

By Aaron Mah

Mar 7, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett (21) raises his arms to get the crowd pumped up in the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Target Center. The Timberwolves won 121-113. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett (21) raises his arms to get the crowd pumped up in the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Target Center. The Timberwolves won 121-113. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jul 11, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Bobby Portis (5) drives into the defense of Minnesota Timberwolves Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during an NBA Summer League game at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 11, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Bobby Portis (5) drives into the defense of Minnesota Timberwolves Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during an NBA Summer League game at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports /

Defense Is The Top Priority

On at least three separate occasions, Greg Anthony and Rick Kamla, the announcing duo NBA TV sent to cover Real Training Camp in Minneapolis, sarcastically observed the practice was most likely the first time for many of its players to go a full session without doing anything offense-related.

The unspoken undertone hovering around the team was how putridly the Wolves had defended last season, allowing over 109.6 points per 100 possessions and an opponent eFG% (which takes into account the value of the three-point shot) of 53.7 percent — both marks ranked, by far, at the bottom of the league, per NBA.com.

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    • Perhaps, the most glaring stylistic difference between Saunders and Mitchell is their outlook on defense. Sam is, in many ways, your typical former NBA player, bred from the rough-housing era of the 1990s, who’s vehemently loyal to the archaic principles of gritty individual defense.

    He stressed, on a number of occasions, that the Wolves will play tough, hard-nose man-to-man D this season; but — in a breath of fresh air — if they get beat, the rest of the team will supply plenty of help.

    All in all, Minnesota spent the majority of their first practice working on conditioning, shuffle drills, the shell drill, and laying the foundation to their pick-and-roll defense.

    Not surprisingly, the team already has Kevin Garnett’s fingerprints all over them. Not only did it get me giddy just watching the likes of Zach LaVine and Karl-Anthony Towns communicating swimmingly with their comrades and barking out where their help is coming from, it got me wanting to jump in my time machine and revisit the mundane times when I use to sleepwalk through such drills.

    Point guard Ricky Rubio summed it best during his press conference on media day as Britt Robson of MinnPost noted:

    "“I never played with a guy who jumped so hard on [pick and roll] defense,” Rubio marveled of Garnett. “I really was impressed with the way he was leading from behind. I was on defense and I heard him yelling all the time, telling us what to do. “That felt pretty good, I’m not going to lie. I think we can build from there. He can teach the young big guys how to lead because that is the key to winning games.”"

    Next: Frontcourt Jam Freed Up

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