Seemingly at wits' end after Saturday's 101-89 loss to Utah, Timberwolves coach and executive decision-maker Flip Saunders vowed changes for a youthful team he said inexplicably lacked energy and hustle.
"How can that be when you have two 19-year-olds, a 20-year-old and a 21-year-old?" Saunders asked afterward.
There are two ways he can respond, one of which he and his staff already have been pursuing for some time.
Saunders has been managing playing time by using analytical player-tracking technology supplied by a company called SportVu that uses overhead cameras in NBA arenas to see all. The data has shown that hard-working Shabazz Muhammad and big man Gorgui Dieng, in particular, regress when asked to do too much on an injury-ravaged team that's overmatched while missing Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin.
He has tried to measure playing time for both men when the evidence suggests their energy level drops and each moves slower than he did earlier in the game.
That doesn't explain, however, why Saunders considered his team collectively lacking from the start of Saturday's game. That's when he threatened the second course of response: Withholding — not measuring — playing time.
"That lineup you saw tonight," Saunders said after Saturday's game, "there probably will be some changes."
Saunders admitted Saturday his team lost some of its spunk and competitive spirit when he traded veteran Corey Brewer away two weeks ago, getting two future second-round picks, shooter Troy Daniels and dumping Ronny Turiaf's contract by dealing a player whom Saunders determined would walk away as a free agent this summer.