So while Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers eschewed a shootaround for his veteran team Wednesday, first-year Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis had his players working overtime.

The Celtics averaged 64 wins the last two seasons. The Wolves, 23. Rambis has brought a new offense and mind-set that's taking extra time to comprehend.

"There are no holdover players from my system," Rambis says. "They're all learning. Even my assistant coaches are learning," including former head coaches Bill Laimbeer (the WNBA's Detroit Shock), Reggie Theus (Sacramento Kings) and Dave Wohl (New Jersey Nets).

Rambis was a head coach only once — the lockout-shortened 1999 season, when he led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 24-13 mark. But he played under Pat Riley and coached under Phil Jackson, who combined have 15 titles and roughly 2,200 wins.

Rambis came to appreciate the ball and player movement of the triangle offense as an assistant under Jackson in Los Angeles. The Timberwolves, struggling with its nuances and missing power foward Kevin Love (broken hand), are 1-4. They won on opening night when they overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Nets.

"It will take some time to learn" the triangle, says center Al Jefferson, still trying to find his groove after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in February. "You look at the Lakers, they've been running that offense for years. They got it down pat."

Which is difficult, given all the options. "When they take away your first three, you have a fourth and a fifth," he says. "But you must make that decision quickly."

The players got a glimpse of its benefits against Boston. The T'wolves shot 52% from the field in a 92-90 loss — the first team to shoot better than 42% against the Celtics this season.

More than one NBA team has tried the triangle and scrapped it. But rookie T'wolves point guard Jonny Flynn says the team is committed to making it work. Flynn gives Rambis the quick ballhandler he needs to spearhead his fastbreak.

"We saw the titles the (Chicago) Bulls and Lakers won using it," Flynn says. "So we know we just have to keep plugging."

Rambis says he hears from Jackson at least three times a week. In one conversation, Jackson told Rambis he wanted to use an excerpt from Minnesota's game video, because the T'wolves executed the triangle better than his Lakers.

Rambis says people are making too much of the triangle anyway.

"It's not even our primary offense," he says. "The way I'm using it, it's just something we flow into. First and foremost, I want to push the ball upcourt. If we don't have something good out of the break, it's a format to play out of that they all understand."

General Manager David Kahn understands the playoffs are a long shot. That's why he gave Rambis a four-year contract. The key pieces are in place with Flynn, Jefferson and Love, who is out at least two more weeks.

"These players are a big reason I took this job," Rambis says. "I really wanted to work with them. Teaching is what I enjoy most."

Enlarge By Genevieve Ross, Getty Images Kurt Rambis, left, is spending a lot of time educating the Timberwolves on the nuances of the triangle offense in his first season as coach. "Teaching is what I enjoy most," says Rambis.