http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/16729656.html Lottery or no, Wolves won't mail it in Coach Randy Wittman says his young team still has a lot to learn and will go all-out as a brutal season ends. Rounding the final turn and heading for home, the Timberwolves approach their regular season's final month charging hard, comparatively speaking, on their fellow lottery-bound rivals. Everybody has left -- or maybe it's the other way around -- the stumbling Miami Heat behind in the NBA standings. The Wolves' three road victories in the past 10 days caught Memphis and pulled them within a victory of Seattle at a time of year when teams in recent seasons have done everything within the spirit of the rules, and perhaps beyond, to gather extra lottery chances. Wolves coach Randy Wittman vows the same franchise that sat Kevin Garnett out in seasons' final days and had Mark Madsen hoisting three-pointers to keep their draft pick has one objective in mind down the stretch. Just win. "No, not with this group," Wittman said when asked if he'll ponder lottery ramifications in the season's last weeks. "We've got to continue to let this team grow and learn and play. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to try and win. That's exactly what we're going to do." Once seemingly the favorite to land the best chance at June's No. 1 overall pick, the Wolves could bypass both Memphis and Seattle in the standings by season's end because of a schedule that includes three games remaining against the Grizzlies as well as games against New York, Charlotte, Indiana and the Los Angeles Clippers, who visit Target Center tonight. At stake for those teams lucky in the lottery: the right to choose Kansas State freshman forward Michael Beasley and Memphis freshman guard Derrick Rose with the draft's first two picks if both choose to enter the draft. "It's important that we play for the guys who are here, no matter what happens," Wolves forward Ryan Gomes said. "We've got to play for today and not what is coming next because we're all playing for jobs and contracts and the chance to be here next year. Some of us will be. Some of us won't. We're going to play hard for the guys in this locker room and for the coaches." The Wolves never have done better than their mathematical probabilities in the lottery and often have done worse. In 1992, they finished with the league's worst record and picked third, choosing Christian Laettner after Orlando took Shaquille O'Neal No. 1 and Charlotte chose Alonzo Mourning No. 2. Last year, Portland, Seattle and Atlanta leapfrogged the league's three worst teams -- Memphis, Boston and Milwaukee -- for the draft's first three picks. The Wolves never have chosen higher than third in the draft, and that was when they took Laettner. "We're young," Wolves guard Randy Foye said. "I don't think more young is going to help us that much. We need to keep playing hard and work to put together something we can carry over to next year. We want to win and let everything else take care of itself." --

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