Sharpshooters boost Wolves

Kevin Love doesn't need game nights to remind himself how much better this Timberwolves team shoots the ball compared with a year ago, when it ranked among the NBA's worst in three-point accuracy and shots made.

He can see it daily in practice.

Or at least whenever the Wolves execute a drill named after the amount of time required:

The 4:15.

Five players weave throughout those four minutes and 15 seconds, attempting as many shots from the free-throw line elbow and beyond the three-point arc as possible. When time's up, they add the number of twos and threes made.

"They're piling up a lot faster this year," Love said. "Last year, we'd get to 90, 95, rarely would we break 100. Now we're getting in the 125, 130 range every time."

Johnson made six threes and scored a career-high 24 points in Monday's victory, when coaches and teammates shouted from the bench for him to keep shooting. So he did, all the way to an 8-for-12 night that included 6-for-8 shooting from three-point range.

"If my defender has his hands down, put it up," Johnson said after Tuesday's practice. "That's what they were telling me when I went over to the bench after I hit two of them. They were telling me, 'That's how you're supposed to shoot 'em. We were waiting on that.' I know now."

The Wolves rank fourth in the NBA in three-point accuracy (38.8 percent) and are ninth in threes made per game (7.24). Last season, they ranked 23rd and 26th out of 30 teams in each category.

And Beasley suggests you haven't seen anything yet.

"Once we get guys to start shooting with confidence, it's going to be a big weapon," Beasley said. "I feel sometimes our guys shoot not to miss rather than shoot to make it. Once they get confidence that they're going to make every shot, we're going to be pretty hard to beat.

"We've got guys on this team who can shoot it. Lots of guys."