Wolves vs. Nuggets
7:00 pm CDT
No Television
The Wolves and the Nuggets face off in a pre-season tilt this evening from Lincoln Nebraska, and once again there is apparently no television broadcast. Which makes sense since nobody is excited for the NBA.
Actually, I’m OK with the lack of television; one of the things about this gig is I feel obliged to watch every game I can, so having an excuse not to watch a meaningless pre-season encounter is not the worst thing in the world.
The Wolves have split their first two games, beating the Heat with a big second half comeback and losing to Charlotte with a big second half collapse. Tom Thibodeau played only ten players in the first game, and got quality contributions from most of the starting lineup and projected bench unit, but widened the rotation for the loss to the Hornets as befits pre-season. That was a fairly ugly game in which only Zach LaVine performed well.
In truth, the value of these games is only in getting guys in rhythm with each other. We hope for steps forward from several young players, but those are unlikely to reveal themselves in the pre-season. Thibs seems to have a clear idea about who he wants to play, and I doubt he deviates to start the season. These games should be useful for Kris Dunn, who as a rookie needs to learn what he can and can’t do in the NBA, but beyond that, I’m not expecting to learn much.
It would be nice to see Andrew Wiggins find his shooting ability—he’s not been good from the field in either game so far. It would be fun for LaVine to back up his monster night in Charlotte. But really, I go into this game like I go into all pre-season games: mostly hoping for no injuries.
We’ll be back with a recap after the game. Meanwhile, enjoy. Chat here. Go Wolves.
UPDATE: Timberwolves.com will live-stream the game for anyone within 75 miles of Target Center.