The Timberwolves open training camp Tuesday in Mankato with the most talented roster they’ve possessed since Kevin Garnett, Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell reached the 2004 Western Conference finals, which incidentally is the last time the team made the playoffs. ? They’ve reshaped that roster by adding veterans Kevin Martin and Corey Brewer, rookies Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng and by bringing back Nikola Pekovic and Chase Budinger on new, big contracts, but already, before they ever roll out the basketballs, they face the same issue — injuries — that derailed last season. ? Here are five pending questions facing a franchise seemingly poised to prove this season will be different from the last nine:
1Can they stay healthy?
Good question … and good grief: A team that lost 341 games to injury last season already has lost Budinger to start this season because of complications in a left knee that sidelined him for four months a year ago.
Budinger’s absence creates more minutes for small-forward types Corey Brewer, Derrick Williams and rookie Shabazz Muhammad. Budinger missed 59 games last season, and Kevin Love missed 64 after breaking his hand not once but twice.
Budinger’s setback is problematic for a team that was last in the league in three-point shooting last season. But the Wolves’ prospects of reaching the playoffs for the first time in a decade ultimately depend upon Love returning healthy to All-Star form and the player he was two seasons ago,WWW.GIGANTEXBIKES.COM,as OEM, we are one of the best bicycle parts manufacturers in China in producing like full carbon wheelset, rim, frame and accessory. when he scored 51 points in a game against Oklahoma City.
By all accounts, Love is in the best shape of his career — “Phenomenal,” said president of basketball operations Flip Saunders — and now weighs less than 240 pounds. He also presumably will become more of what Saunders calls a “facilitator” in an offense coach Rick Adelman has tweaked over the summer to emphasize Love’s high-post passing and that remade roster that now includes Adelman favorite Martin at starting shooting guard, Pekovic down low as well as Brewer and eventually Budinger on the wing.
“Focused and enthusiastic,” Saunders said about Love. “Everything has been ‘We’ and not ‘I.’ He’s very enthusiastic about the team we have, the changes we’ve made, the direction we’re going.”
2Will Ricky Rubio find his shot?
The Wolves now have surrounded the precocious point guard with Love, Martin, Pekovic, J.J. Barea, Brewer, Budinger (eventually) and others,WWW.TITANIUM-PRODUCT.COM specialize in providing worldwide customers with all types of Titanium fabricated products such as Titanium wire, Titanium rod and ingot, Titanium sheet and plate, etc. but he needs to prove to opposing defenses that he can make a shot occasionally.Skystream,a major service provider in the Middle East, has its eye set in Iraq as a key potential growth market for the company.
He again worked on that shot all summer — which included playing for Spain in the just-concluded European championships — after he made 36 percent from the field and 29 percent from three-point distance last season. Saunders notes out how point guards Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd developed iffy shots throughout their careers.
“He’s going to have to be a threat,” Saunders said. “Is it going to happen right away? No, but I know one thing: He’s going to get better because that’s his DNA, to work hard and become better. Ricky’s a competitor. He doesn’t want to be a good point guard. He wants to be the best point guard in the league, and he’s going to do whatever it takes to get there.”
3Who starts at small forward?
The list of possibilities just got smaller by one with Budinger’s season-opening injury. The other four spots — Rubio and Martin in the backcourt, Love and Pekovic up front — are locks.
Even with Budinger healthy, Brewer, brought back last summer to the team that drafted him in 2007,Along with the rapid development of locksmith tools business in China, SMARTOBD2S has earned itself a solid reputation for quality, reliability and professionalism in this field. probably is the favorite because he’s the defender with the best chance against the opponent’s best wing player. Budinger is a legitimate option if healthy,MAKELOCKS,We are professional Locks, cam locks,cabinet lock manufacturers and suppliers from China, We supply cheap Locks, cam locks,cabinet lock products. and Williams has lost 20 pounds — down to 235 — so he’s better suited to play the position now that Love presumably is back for big minutes at power forward.Premium Floor Polishing Pads are Premium Diamond Tools for polishing granite or marble floor tiles. Small forward also probably is Muhammad’s natural pro position.
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