It should come as no surprise that much of the first two days of practices for the Wolves have been decidedly devoted to defense.
"He has a lot of emphasis on defense," Ricky Rubio said. "That's going to make us a better team. Play as a team, play together. But, at the end of the day, the defense is going to carry on, even on off nights. So that's what we emphasize right now.''
Not a surprise, really, given Thibodeau's reputation as a defensive coach.
Rubio echoed what Thibodeau has said from the start, that it begins with basics.
"If you don't have the basics, it's hard to go far," Rubio said. "So I think we're trying to be on the same page, have the same knowledge about defense and go out there (and play). Because it's easy to say it, but when you're out there, 100 percent, you forget. So you have to get the basics really in our minds to really do it when it matters.''
For a player like Rubio, who has played solid defense from the start, this is welcome news. But even he said he's learning things, defensively, on a daily basis from Thibodeau.
"It's like a clinic every day,'' he said.
Thibodeau, meanwhile, was asked if the team had the talent to be a great defensive team. "I don't see what not," he said. "It's gonna be a work in progress. But I think once we have a good understanding of it, I think we'll get better and better at it."
