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  • Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic battle in the paint during a Timberwolves practice this week at Bresnan Arena. Pat Christman

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October 5, 2012

Timberwolves have look of 'different team'

By Chad Courrier Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — Last year at this time, the Minnesota Timberwolves were leaving Mankato after a lockout-shortened preseason and a roster of young players, all of whom exclaimed that team chemistry was good because most of the team had similar basketball experiences.

On Friday, following four days of training camp at Minnesota State, coach Rick Adelman and players talked about the optimism brought on by a revamped roster of veterans who are more serious about their work.

“This is a totally different team,” said Adelman, who didn’t have much input in last year’s roster because he was hired late and the lockout kept his players away. “We’ve added some veterans, and I think our ballhandling and shooting will be better. We’ll have to see how it all works.”

At this time last year, Michael Beasley, Darko Milicic, Anthony Randolph and Martell Webster were key parts of the roster. They’ve been replaced by Brandon Roy, Andrei Kirilenko, Alexey Shved and Chase Budinger, as well as several other younger players.

“You can really tell the difference in the atmosphere,” center Nikola Pekovic said. “Everyone’s more focused and ready to work.”

In four days of practice, Adelman said he was happy with what the team accomplished. He said that Pekovic needs to be the iron man in the middle, though there’s a lot more depth at that position. He said second-year player Derrick Williams was one of the most impressive players, working harder and playing more aggressively.

Adelman said that he’s been able to install more of his offense than he could in limited time last year, but the defense is still a work in progress.

“We’re doing the drill work, but when we get in the halfcourt or scrimmages, we’ve had some breakdowns,” Adelman said. “That’s what the preseason is for. You learn a lot when you start playing other teams.”

Point guard Luke Ridnour said he’s excited to see what happens with this team, having showed improvement last year. He’s hoping the team shows enough this season that the team won’t need a major makeover every offseason.

“We’ve got some good young guys, and we have some players who have been on good teams and know what it takes to win,” Ridnour said. “On paper, we look good, but you have to make things happen on the court. Hopefully, we’re good enough to be a playoff team, and we can keep this group together.”

The Wolves play their first preseason game Wednesday against Indiana at Fargo, N.D.

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