Wolves on NBA TV at 3pm

[TAFKASP]

To the comments regarding the energy level of the practice, televised or not, if you cannot be excited and get up for the first practice of the season you don't belong on the team!

I didn't watch any, but between the Vikings, the Wild being half way through pre-season, and now the Wolves back on the floor my wife's attitude is about to take a turn for the worse! :P

[Coolbreeze44]

If I am Sam, I realize that not starting Martin will cause a problem based on Martin's insistence that he is a starting SG in this league. The remedy is to start Martin, and then wait for the first injury to take the opportunity to start Zach (if he has earned it). You can always use the "I don't want to mess with success" excuse, assuming Zach is being productive in a starters role.

On another note, it would have been nice if Anthony knew enough to close his trap during the teaching moments of the practice. I would have really liked to have heard more of what Sam was saying, but Anthony kept talking over him.

I'm sorry but that's a terrible reason to start Martin. It might be the last reason I decide to start Martin. There are surely some good reasons you can lean on, but that ain't one of them.

[Monster]

I can see 2 instances where Martin would be fine coming off the bench.

1. A player becomes good enough to actually challenge him when it comes to being an NBA player. A lot of people think Zach will do that this year. I am skeptical even though I love his potential. Bazz is another option. Once upon a time Martin was a young guy trying to get playing time over vets. If he stuck around here this long I would imagine he knows someday the plan (hopefully a player steps up) is to pass the torch.

2. Winning. If he ends up coming off the bench or is asked to come of the bench and the team wins games I bet he will be fine too.

It just hit me that it's actually kind of hilarious that we get one of the best wing players of the franchise's history (seriously although that's not saying a lot) and many fans are trying to get rid of him and have been basically as soon as he got here.

Also I forgot to mention it earlier but Bazz looks terrific.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

That was a great inside look at a Wolves' practice yesterday, and I came out of it largely impressed. There's one unusual aspect that concerned me though, and I thought I would see what others think.

I was a big advocate of bringing back KG last year, and thought the team looked much better in the few games he played in. And yesterday he looked mobile, healthy and intense. But here's the weird part. While I like the idea of having a "coach on the court", there were times yesterday when I thought KG was asserting himself way too much...almost to the point of usurping Mitchell's role at times. Mitchell would be talking, and KG would just talk right over him. Is this going to be a problem? There were a couple times that I thought Mitchell might tell KG to shut up, but instead he deferred to him and said something like "To KG's point, we need to...". I get why perhaps Sam didn't want to show up KG on NBA TV, but I hope he sat him down last night to explain the proper roles of players and coaches.

I also found KG's intensity downright scary at times, and I wonder if he might be too intimidating for our young players. This is delicate, because after years of losing the last thing I want to watch is a complacent team. But yesterday I found myself wondering if there need to be a little more balance here. KG at times looks like he is about to have a stroke...veins in his neck bulging, angry look on his face, and never smiling...and this is practice!

Maybe I'm way off base in this, but I have a feeling the younger guys got together last night and said "Damn, this guy is crazy...he never stops talking or glaring at me!" Ha, maybe this is all orchestrated to make Sam Mitchell look kinder and gentler, because he certainly does compared to KG! If KG's intensity makes the entire team more intense without any negative ramifications, then I'm all for it. It's just that the dynamic yesterday felt weird to me at times. Was anyone else alarmed, or at least surprised, at KG's behavior during practice yesterday?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

LST, I didn't watch the live practice, but this dynamic is exactly what a number of us were worried about. There is only so much barking from coach and mentor that one can take. We already know Mitchell is a bit of a taskmaster. Having two guys talking over each other and in your ears at all times can wear thin pretty fast. Hopefully KG modulates things a bit as camp progresses. While I'm not a huge fan of Miller or Prince as players anymore, they certainly have complimentary personalities to KG. That's a good thing.

[Carlos Danger]

I got that same vibe LST. Granted, it was only one practice....but, yeah - it was obvious KG is not just another player. He has special privileges including taking over coaching whenever he feels the urge. I can't say whether that is good or bad. I do feel there was also a bit of a "ham it up for the camera" feel to it as well though. Sort of like when he first came over last year, the cameras would go on him and he'd be mentoring up someone. I'm not saying he doesn't do those things without cameras. But as I wrote earlier, I feel like it's human nature to play to the camera a little too when you know it's there. They'll figure it out. KG always said Sam was his mentor, so I would assume he'd respect him and "stay in his lane" allowing Sam to lead.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

KG is a unique individual, to say the least. I tend to think they will find a way to make it work and turn it into a positive, but it was kind of jarring yesterday. The other thing I noticed yesterday is that I'm not convinced our foreign players understand what KG is saying much of the time. After all, English is their second language, and KG speaks kind of a hybrid South Carolina dialect, and there were a couple times yesterday that I'm certain Bjelica had no idea what he was saying...heck, there was one time it didn't look like Towns could decipher what he was telling him!

Anyway, I was impressed in many ways by how KG's intensity rubbed off on the other guys, but still the dynamic was surreal at times.

[60WinTim]

I only watched the some of the beginning, but I intend to take in the whole thing at some point.

What struck me early on was not only the emphasis on defense, but the change in philosophy. And it explains why our perimeter players looked like such poor defenders at times. Apparently we defended perimeter players by opening up to one side, with the idea of forcing them in a direction where we would have help. Sam commented a couple times "we are not doing that any more". Instead, he wants our perimeter defenders to stay in front of their man, so even if they get beat, it will take an extra step (and time) for their man to get around. No more straight line drives.

Since we have a number of players that should be plus defenders, this makes a ton of sense to me. Chalk one up for Mitchell as coach!

[bleedspeed]

I came away very impressed with Sam. He really was vocal and intense, but he did it in a manor that was teaching. I have a feeling he will have a good pulse on this team and will be able to know how hard he could push them and yesterday was a day to push them. I got the feeling Sam likes this team and the group of guys. He seemed to like Bazz and his effort. I think Sam is the perfect coach for him.

I think the KG effect will mostly be positive. You want to win you have to work and be all in. I think the young guys will observe this and raise there level.

[Monster]

I watched a decent chunk of this and I don't come away with the idea that KG was that crazy but maybe I missed the parts where he was. I don't know what the dynamic of practices are at the NBA level (or really any level) but I have a hard time believing the top players don't speak up in practice. I'd put money on KG knowing more about defense than anyone in that room so him saying something all things considered seems expected to me.

Below is a short clip of KAT mic'd up and it shows KG taking him aside.

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2015/09/29/20150929-rtc-timberwolves-micd-towns.nba/index.html?ls=iref:nba:specials:homepage:video