<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Burdened by a three-game losing streak, Timberwolves coach Dwane Casey today begins the challenge of righting what's wrong with his team. He has a lot of ground to cover. His club has struggled to find consistency on defense, hasn't competed all-out every night and still is trying to gain chemistry. Casey remains optimistic despite losses to Portland, Sacramento and the Los Angeles Lakers on the final three legs of a four-game road trip that ended Tuesday night. Those games were reminiscent of last season: There was a blown 16-point lead against Portland, plus a lack of competitiveness against Sacramento and the Lakers, punctuated by poor third quarters. Casey said he would re-evaluate his team before the next game, Saturday night at home against the Orlando Magic. "We're trying to create a culture of playing hard every time we're on the floor, a winning culture," Casey said. "We will do that." Casey said addressing his defense's shortcomings is his top priority, starting with today's practice. The defensive woes are a concern because this is supposed to be a solid defensive team. Casey was hired, in 2005, in part because of his attention to detail on that end of the floor. Against the Kings on Monday night, the Wolves were worse than they had been all season in denying penetration into the lane. Then came the Lakers game Tuesday night, when more defensive lapses defending the triangle offense hurt the Wolves. When reserves took the court, the Wolves slashed what had been a 20-point deficit to 89-86 late in the fourth quarter. Casey said the reserves executed the defensive game plan better, though they did it against the Lakers' reserves. But don't expect a shakeup with the starting lineup. Casey doesn't think that's the problem. His starters just need to play better in the first and third quarters, when they fell behind the past two games against Sacramento and Los Angeles. "We're going to look at the whole situation as far as how we start the first quarter and the third quarter," Casey said. "I'm not saying we're making changes or anything like that. I'm just saying we're going to look at what we can do differently."</div> Source
