Saunders places Wolves' emphasis on getting organized

Here is how Flip Saunders spent the hours following the Timberwolves' loss Wednesday to previously winless Philadelphia, in his own words:

"I went to bed this morning at 5:30," he said after a long day Thursday, which began with a marathon film viewing session before practice. "From 12 o'clock to 1:30, the owner says what the heck is the president doing getting these guys on the team. From 1:30 to 3 the president says what the heck is the coach doing not getting these guys to play harder. And then from 3:30 to 5:30 the coach is getting down on the players. So that was my night."

Saunders, of course, is part-owner, president of basketball operations and coach of the Wolves. So he both won and lost all the aforementioned arguments.

But that didn't make getting to sleep any easier.

It was a dejected Saunders who, after the 76ers loss, lamented a lack of urgency and implied a lack of effort.

In the light of a new day, after watching the film, Saunders said the effort was better than he thought. But there were lapses. Most of all, he saw a disorganized bunch of players on both ends of the court, but especially on offense. He also saw a team playing tight in a game everyone expected it to win.

Saunders saw players abandoning the team concept, playing 1-on-1. Understandably, the injury-riddled Wolves — who reported two new ones with Mo Williams' back and Shabazz Muhammad's ankle — are going to struggle. But Saunders pledged again to sit players who continue to make mistakes despite his depleted roster, much as he did with Anthony Bennett on Wednesday.

"I told the guys today they have a great opportunity right now," he said. "But don't mess it up. Right now you're lucky because if all our guys were [healthy], you wouldn't be playing at all. At all. You'd be getting your 25 minutes a game in the [Development League], not here in the NBA. And you'd better take advantage of it when you can."

So the theme of practice was to get reorganized on the offensive end. But even improvement might not mean more victories. Friday's game with Houston kicks off a run of five games against Western Conference powers: San Antonio, Golden State, Portland and Oklahoma City follow.

"We might get better, but the results might not be different, because of the people we're playing here," Saunders said. "But we have to understand the process and be demanding of the players. And if they don't do it, they're going to have to sit and watch for a couple minutes.''

• Neither Williams nor Shabazz were able to do much in practice Thursday and are questionable for Friday. Saunders said Williams' back started acting up Sunday.

• Saunders said neither Ricky Rubio (ankle) nor Kevin Martin (wrist) will be returning until January. While that's not a big surprise, Rubio had indicated a hope to return around Christmas.

• Saunders said centers Nikola Pekovic (wrist, ankle) and Ronny Turiaf (hip) were closer to returning. Saunders hopes they can return this month.