Wolves Updates 10/4
Saturday's exhibition opener against the Turkish team Efes Pilsen
Istanbul will be shown tape delayed at 4:30 p.m. on NBA TV. Wednesday's
game against Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics in London will be shown live by ESPN2 at 1:30 p.m.
Ryan Gomes on an NBA Cares basketball court dedication he participated in along with Theo Ratliff and Fred Hoiberg:
We felt like rock stars because the kids were so excited to be around
NBA players. They didn't want your autograph. They just wanted to
high-five you and they wanted to be around you. The people here know
Hedo Turkoglu and Mehmet Okur (Turkish players in the NBA), but they're
not used to seeing NBA players every day, face to face.
From Mike Cristaldi's blog at the team site:
On Wednesday, the Wolves only had one practice as the coaching staff
gave the team the night session off. Wittman was very complimentary of
his team's efforts thus far in training camp, and realized his team
needed some rest.
In a conference call with the media, Coach Wittman says about the team's second-round pick:
Chris Richard has come in and established himself as a banger, and does
all of the dirty work. He's rebounding the ball really well.
On whether Al Jefferson was more "assertive" in practice yesterday, Coach Wittman said:
Today he was much better.
Rumor has it that the NBA is going to pay for the rim Chris Richard broke last night in practice. That way, Glen Taylor won't have to write the check for that. Ha! After resolving that accident, we were graciously invited back there tomorrow night -- to the same gym -- if I understand correctly.
Coach Randy Wittman said one of McCants' hamstrings
became sore during a scrimmage Wednesday, and the third-year guard was
sidelined as a precaution. McCants warmed up and participated in drills
but then noticed an issue.
Tuesday night, McCants suffered what originally was described as a cramp during that practice and sat out.
"We don't want it to become a strain or a nagging
injury," Wittman said. "You don't know whether it's the soreness from
the cramp or if it's the hamstring."
Also, Theo Ratliff returned to action Wednesday
after being limited Tuesday by back stiffness...
NBA.com offers a season preview of the team.
Bill Ingram/Hoopsworld on the Hassell-Buckner trade.
Eric Pincus/Hoopsworld on the Wolves post-Garnett.
Curiously, Juwan Howard, who after being acquired by the Timberwolves said he looked forward to playing with Kevin Garnett, said he hasn't had any conversations with Garnett since he was traded to Boston.
