"Slump? What slump?

Corey Brewer may be struggling with his jump shot, but the Timberwolves swingman isn't ready to call it a slump.

"You have to remember," he said, "I didn't play basketball last year. I'm not shooting well, but people don't understand I didn't play for a whole year, basically, so I'm kind of still getting my legs back and trying to get back to normal."

Brewer missed all but 15 games last season after tearing up his knee, and he still doesn't feel quite right. So even though his inability to hit open shots (5 for 13) was a problem in a one-point loss to New Orleans on Wednesday, neither Brewer nor his coach is ready to panic.

"I want him to work on his mechanics, work on his balance, and when he gets open, shoot," coach Kurt Rambis said. "That's what I've told all the players. If you're open and it's your shot, and the defense is telling you to shoot, then you shoot the ball."

Not that Brewer isn't working hard to get himself out of this slu ... er, low ebb. The past two days, he has spent time before and after practices with Fred Hoiberg, a 43 percent shooter in 10 NBA seasons. Hoiberg, now the Wolves' vice president for basketball operations, shot nearly 50 percent from the field (.489) and three-point range (.483) in his last season.

"Sometimes as a shooter, when you're struggling, it's easier to find your rhythm on the road," Hoiberg said. "I went through a time in Chicago when I was in a horrible shooting slump, and sometimes you hear the catcalls at home, and it's just easier to go out on the road and find your game a little bit.

"Corey is going to be fine. He'll get it back; all players that go through this do. It's just a matter of getting in the gym and getting that repetition and finding your stroke."

Brewer is averaging 10.5 points per game and shooting 38 percent from the field. In five games prior to Friday's late game against the Lakers at Staples Center, he was just 13 of 38 (34 percent). But he has always been a slasher, so adjusting to his role in Rambis' defense hasn't always been easy.

"You can kind of say that because, more than likely, I'm going to want to get to the rim, so on a lot of those shots I get into that in-between area," he said. "But I'm trying to change that. And if I can knock down my jump shots, that will open up my slashing a lot more." "