Tom Thibodeau Pushing the Intensity on First Day of Practice
As we roll into Minnesota Timberwolves training camp, new head coach Tom Thibodeau is already pushing players in an intense first day of practice.
After a summer filled with front office changes for the Minnesota Timberwolves, new head coach Tom Thibodeau is ready to get this team in shape and ready for the upcoming season.
There are a lot of high expectations for the young Timberwolves squad. Many are calling for this team to end the longest current playoff drought. This team has the talent, and with the coaching additions, they should be able to contend.
Thibodeau has been known for pushing his players to the limit. This was one of the things he was scolded for upon leaving Chicago. There were rumblings of Thibodeau practicing his players to hard and playing them to many minutes.
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After that narrative was passed around, Bulls players were calling for more intensity and structure with Thibodeau gone. The Bulls regressed last season as well. That showed that Thibodeau knew how to get the most out of his players.
With a very young team, Thibodeau has a chance to mold these players from an early point of their careers. From the quotes recorded yesterday, it seems that the players have already bought in.
Attending the practice yesterday were Duke head coach Mike Krzyzeweki, former Timberwolves and most recently Wizards head coach Randy Wittman, and Gophers head coach Richard Pitino.
Thibodeau spent his one year vacation spending time with 13 different franchises soaking up knowledge from different head coaches.
We should see a better, reinvented Thibodeau this season. After already being one of the top coaches in the league, it will be scary to see the tools he has added to his bag.
"“The summer was a lot of individual work, building relationships, getting to know ‘em,” Thibodeau said. “The fall was a really good next step. And this is the step that follows that. It gives us a baseline of where we are. We know where we need to go. … You want to get the base of your offense, the base of your defense. And you want to build. But you have to do it with your fundamentals first. You add layers as you go.”"
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This team has a lot of work to do. Coming from a scheme built on the fly by Sam Mitchell after Flip Saunders passing, and now learning a new scheme might take time to sink in. This team has the talent to become playoff contenders sooner than later. Tom Thibodeau will increase those chances.