Hard to get a good angle on Rambis' new offense

The triangle has not been good to the Wolves so far. It's going to take time and some mind-expansion to make it work, Gomes says.

By JERRY ZGODA, Star Tribune

Last update: November 2, 2009 - 7:14 AM

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PHOENIX - You might not have to be a fully certified Zen master to completely comprehend basketball's unorthodox triangle offense.

But if the Timberwolves' opening two games are accurate reflections, they're going to have to stretch themselves some before they fully grasp the elements of the offense that new coach Kurt Rambis has installed.

"We're going to have to expand our games and our minds in order to make this offense work," Wolves forward Ryan Gomes said.

So far, they are not nearly there yet.

Not after two games in which the Wolves have shot a combined 39.1 percent. In Wednesday's opening comeback victory over New Jersey, nobody had more than two assists. In Friday's home loss to Cleveland, nobody had more than three.

Phoenix point guard Steve Nash, whom the Wolves will face tonight at U.S. Airways Center, had 20 assists Friday night against Golden State -- more than the Wolves combined in either of their first two games.

They've also made just four of 21 three-pointers so far. That's 19 percent.

"We're still learning how to play," Rambis said.

The offense relies on each player reaching specific spots on the floor to spread the defense. It requires players to read and react with passes to how the defense responds to that spacing rather than relying on traditional set plays.

"We're asking guys to do a lot of things they're not used to doing," Rambis said. "A lot of it is learning to play together. You really have to give of yourself to make it work."

The shooting percentage and assists total through two games suggest the process in nowhere near approaching completion. Consider this: Al Jefferson is averaging as many assists as point guard Jonny Flynn. They lead the team with a 2.5 assist average.

"In this offense, where there's a lot of ball movement, there might not be as many assists," said Flynn, who by seven points a game leads the team in scoring, with a 17.5 point average. "I think we just have to keep getting better. We have to keep building on this. If we stay true to the offense and buy into it, I know this is going to work."

It has through two games, only in what Rambis calls "pockets" of proper execution.

"We got a long way to go, if that's what you're asking," Jefferson said when asked about the assist totals.

"We've got a way to go."

Nobody has made more than one three-pointer. Flynn, Sasha Pavlovic, Oleksiy Pecherov and Brian Cardinal each have one.

"We have to shoot everywhere better," Rambis said. "Three-point shooting, that's not who we are as a team.

"We have a couple of guys who will be good shooters from the three-point line at some time. But we're not a team that will make a lot of three-point shots. We have to work for higher quality shots. [Three-point shooting] is not the character of our team, the makeup of our team. That's not who we are."

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