Rubio frustrated with Wolves' stunted progress: 'We're wasting time'

Ricky Rubio has yet to taste the playoffs in five-plus NBA seasons, so one can understand if he was excited about the prospect of his Minnesota Timberwolves making the leap this season and vaulting into the Western Conference's top eight.

They haven't exactly come flying off the block, though, falling to 3-7 after squandering a 12-point halftime lead in a 115-108 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night. The Wolves struggled with the same things they've struggled with throughout the past two growing-pain-filled seasons: they got sliced to ribbons in the paint, couldn't defend the 3-point line, didn't recover well in transition, and generally failed to get stops when they needed them. Their late-game execution, in particular, left much to be desired.

Rubio, who was a game-worst minus-19 in 35 minutes, feels the team should've found a way to clean up those miscues by now.

"This is the best team I've ever been around," he told reporters after the game, according to Jon Krawszynski of the Associated Press. "I get mad thinking that we're wasting time. We're not learning. It's time to change."

With defensive guru Tom Thibodeau taking over as head coach, there was some expectation that the Wolves would figure things out at that end of the floor. But coming into Tuesday's game, they found themselves in familiar territory, ranked 24th in the league in defensive efficiency. They didn't improve their stock against the Hornets, allowing them to shoot 53.8 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from 3-point range.

"We gotta straighten it out and straighten it out fast," Thibodeau said. "The commitment to improve and to learn, that has to change."

"I knew there would be bumps in the road," he added. "I want to see progress. I want to see the commitment to improve."