The Minnesota Timberwolves were crowned darlings of this NBA season before it even began, but after just two games, their notoriously difficult-to-please head coach is appalled by what he's seen.
After a 106-103 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday dropped them to 0-2, Tom Thibodeau called out his team's lack of toughness. Not just one kind of toughness, he was sure to point out, he feels they're deficient across the board.
"Everything: mental toughness, physical toughness, emotional toughness, all aspects of it," Thibodeau told reporters, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "Every team has two or three primary scorers, and they're going to put pressure on you and you have to respond. It's not any one person's responsibility. It's the entire team's. We have to get tied together and have discipline."
Many projected a significant leap for the uber-talented Wolves this season, and two games certainly doesn't qualify as evidence to the contrary. But those games also served as a reminder that they're still the youngest team in the league, and young teams don't just improve as a matter of course. Young teams make mistakes and take lumps, and Thibodeau - who's historically been far more trusting of veterans - will have to ride the roller coaster alongside his young players.
For now, challenging those players and appealing to their pride will have to suffice.
"We got to look at the film to see what the issues were," Thibodeau said. "We've got to be tougher."
