"Corey Brewer is spending less time looking at the floor these days.

There were times earlier this season when the Timberwolves small forward would look at his feet before firing up a jump shot.

It was Brewer's way of remembering his new shooting mechanics, a makeover implemented by Wolves coach Kurt Rambis. Rambis has been working on Brewer's shooting technique, starting with his footwork to make sure his body is balanced as he takes aim.

Brewer is shooting only 38 percent (80 of 210) through 17 games, but he can tell he's making progress — his body is straight and he no longer has to double-check his alignment before shooting.

"It's a lot more natural for me now," Brewer said. "I'm able to keep my feet squared. I can tell when I'm about to miss a shot. I can feel my body leaning to the right or left."

The more Brewer maintains proper posture when he shoots, the more the Wolves (2-15) believe they will have a consistent scorer from a vital position. As a 6-foot-9 perimeter player, Brewer gets a huge number of open shots in the Wolves' offense. Teams are double-teaming Al Jefferson in the post or collapsing on point guard Jonny Flynn when he drives to the basket.

Flynn and Jefferson often see Brewer open for quality shots and pass him the ball. Sometimes Brewer connects, as he did against Denver last week when he made 10 of 18 shots. But there have been games where Brewer has struggled. He was 1 of 11 against Phoenix last week and 6 of 21 against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 2.

Brewer has taken 10 or more shots in 11 games this season but made 50 percent of them in only one of those contests. He hasn't made a three-pointer since Nov. 23 against the Clippers.

Brewer, averaging 11.8 points, admits he has passed up shots because he wasn't "feeling it" and didn't want to hurt the team. Rambis believes those nights are history.

"When Corey's balance and footwork is good, he'll hit a high percentage of shots," Rambis said. "It takes time to break old habits. We feel Corey can become a very good open shooter."

Brewer will make his 18th start tonight against Memphis at Target Center. Though Brewer has had tough shooting nights, Rambis has stuck with him. Brewer's value has shown up in other areas when his shooting has been off.

The third-year veteran ranked among the top five in the NBA in steals through the first month of the season. Brewer averages 2.06 steals, 2.2 assists and 4.6 rebounds. During the Wolves' 15-game losing streak, Rambis often cited Brewer's tenacity as one of the team's few positives. "