And We’re Off: Wolves at Suns

Wolves at Suns
9:00 pm CDT
No Television

Preseason games are good for all of us, especially at Canis Hoopus where we have to shake the rust off our game thread skills.

Tonight’s preseason opener is a bit of a disappointment, however, since it’s a late start with no television broadcast. Still, the Wolves are back in action for the first time in months, with a significantly different roster than when last seen, and apparently a whole new attitude to go with it.

I encourage you to concern yourself less with the results, both individual and team, and more with observing how Ryan Saunders deploys his players, what lineup combinations he puts out there, and how the minutes are distributed. Unfortunately, with apparently no broadcast, we won’t be able to watch their offensive sets and defensive schemes to see what’s new.

For the Wolves, Jordan Bell is the only player unavailable as of this writing, as he recovers from a calf strain.

The Suns have a few key guys out: Mikal Bridges, Kelly Oubre, and Aron Baynes will all miss tonight’s game. But old friend Ricky Rubio will lead them from the point guard position, and they present some interesting challenges with a talented back court and last season’s impressive rookie center DeAndre Ayton.

Expected Lineups

Suns

Ricky Rubio
Devin Booker
Cam Johnson
Dario Saric
DeAndre Ayton

Wolves

Jeff Teague
Jarrett Culver
Andrew Wiggins
Robert Covington
Karl-Anthony Towns

NOTE: I am guessing at the Wolves lineup, and grabbed the Suns expected starters from our friends over at Bright Side of the Sun.

Please enjoy this first game thread of the season responsibly.