Martin "tweaks" groin muscles, Brewer returns with smile intact

The Timberwolves have come through the first five days of training camp in Mankato relatively healthy, but not entirely so.

Veteran guard Kevin Martin is the latest to leave practice early, doing so this afternoon when he injured his groin while reaching to make a steal in a collision along a sideline during a scrimmage.

He immediately came up hobbling and signaled for the training staff.

Flip Saunders afterward said he doesn't yet know the severity of the injury but, given the timing so early in the preseason, he suggested they will exercise caution to be sure it doesn't become a lingering issue.

Meanwhile, Corey Brewer returned to practice today after leaving early because of his chipped teeth sustained in a collision with Thad Young.

He went to the Twin Cities late Friday afternoon to have what he called "patchwork" done on his front two teeth and will return to the dentist on Wednesday for more work.

In the meantime, he's wearing a mouthguard and, yes, he's still smiling.

A few other things from practice:

* Saunders continues to remark on camp's competitive nature and an attention to defense.

Asked how good defensively this team can be, he said, "I don't know. I think we have a chance. We understand the concepts. I think our athleticism give us the ability to help and recover. I'm not willing to step out yet but we are getting better. That's the main thing."

* Andrew Wiggins continues to impress on the defensive end more so than offensively so far.

"He's picking things up right now," Saunders said. "He's trying to put everything up and not do too much. He's real solid defensively. We haven't done a lot of offensive scrimmaging, so he hasn't had a chance as much in the open floor to show some things he can do. But he's impacted the defensive end."

* Nikola Pekovic said he's has come through camp's opening five days feeling strong and said he had some soreness in his Achilles that contributed to sitting out Thursday's practice.