Wolves Impress In Preseason Debut

Head coach Kurt Rambis

DOWNLOAD MP3

Al Jefferson

DOWNLOAD MP3

Jonny Flynn

DOWNLOAD MP3

Kevin Love

DOWNLOAD MP3

The wait is over. After all of the summer shuffling with rosters, coaching changes, and adjustments to the front office; real basketball is underway.

Minnesota led wire-to-wire in Mankato, defeating the Bucks 117-103 in the first preseason game at the Bresnan Arena on the campus of Minnesota State University. The Wolves jumped to a 12-2 lead with crisp ball movement and a new commitment to an up-tempo style of offense.

“Probably about what I expected,” head coach Kurt Rambis said. “We did a lot of good things. We did a lot of poor things, way too many turnovers. We forced too much, but I also asked players to expand their games, something they probably haven’t been asked to do.”

Al Jefferson showed no signs of despair by scoring 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting in 16 minutes of court time. After suffering a season-ending knee injury last February, Jefferson returned to the floor in his first official game. Big Al was up to all his old tricks with mid-range jumpers and the patent jump hook in the paint. Fans should feel confident in the Wolves’ star center after he played a bulk of the first half, never expressing pain in the surgically repaired knee.

“It was good, my lungs are a little suspect out there,” Jefferson said. “My knee was good, I could have played the second half but they wanted to be more safe than sorry.”

Another familiar face impressed the Mankato crowd. Second-year forward Kevin Love was all business and picked up right where he left off last year. Love started strong with several outside shots by curling off screens. In 17 minutes, Love led all scorers with 17 points and 13 boards in the victory.

Rookie Jonny Flynn began the game in the starting lineup and finished with 14 points. The speedster out of Syracuse played under control with only three turnovers and seven assists.

“It was so hard, you know first real NBA game,” Flynn said after his long awaited debut. You are so anxious, you want to go out there and make something happen right away but with Kurt’s offense you have to be patient. You have to take your time, it was an adjustment just trying to hold back my emotions and all that but I think I did it.”

On several possessions, the No. 6 overall pick effectively sucked his defender and post player into the paint, allowing open teammates on the perimeter. Flynn remained patient but attacked the basket – reaching the free throw line 15 times and scoring all 14 of his points from the charity stripe. In fact, Minnesota made a living at the free throw line with 56 attempts and hitting 89.3 percent.

Free agent acquisition Sasha Pavlovic jumped off the bench to contribute 15 points. Pavlovic scored on a variety of difficult shots but nailed 4-of-5 from the perimeter. Another free agent addition, Ramon Sessions struggled at times within the flow of the offense. The former Bucks point guard recorded six rebounds and four assists.

The Wolves will have the day off on Monday before returning to the practice floor to prepare for the Raptors on Friday night.

For complete coverage, visit Training Camp Central 2009.
For more news and notes on the team follow the Minnesota Timberwolves and Jonah on Twitter.