Dane MizutaniWeb Editorial AssociateEmail / TwitterMinnesota took down the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 112-94 victory on Sunday night in Tulsa, Okla. It’s still just the preseason so wins and losses don’t really hold as much weight as general improvements within the team — Wolves coach Flip Saunders has made that very clear this so far. That said there is still a little something to be said about a victory over a Western Conference powerhouse.
Mo Williams powered Minnesota to the win with a team-high 19 points in just 23 minutes of work. He was 6-for-7 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, and served as a stabilizing force for most of the game. Ricky Rubio and Kevin Martin added 13 points apiece, and Rubio got to the charity stripe 10 times — a good sign moving forward.
Oklahoma City was sans Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook only played 23 minutes — so this win should still be taken with a grain of salt.
Here are a few more observations from the win:
WILLIAMS IS LEGIT
Saunders said a big reason the team signed Williams during the offseason was because of his aptitude for playing late in games. It’s pretty clear through the first few preseason games, though, that Williams could be one of the bigger contributors on the team this year. He made it clear at Training Camp in Mankato that he believed he could still play at a high level and he’s proven that so far.
Williams will undoubtedly serve as a mentor to guys like Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine this season. Minnesota, however, will likely lean on the veteran guard for overall production more than it might have expected when Williams inked his contract earlier this offseason.
VETERANS GET SOME MINUTES
Minnesota trotted out a starting lineup of JJ Barea, Kevin Martin, Corey Brewer, Thad Young, and Ronny Turiaf on Sunday night, and while that lineup didn’t get a ton of run in the game, it’s clear Saunders wanted to give some of the veterans a little tick.
That’s a pretty good strategy at this point in the preseason. He’s given his young players a lot of time to adjust to the NBA game and now it appears he’s letting his veteran players get their legs about them before the start of the regular season.
The Wolves also have a pretty grueling preseason schedule with a bunch of games packed into a short period of time the rest of the way, so the veterans might taper back on the minutes over the next couple weeks. In that span younger guys like Wiggins, LaVine, Anthony Bennett, and Glenn Robinson III should get more run, too.
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
It’s no secret that LaVine is an uber athletic kid. It’s also no secret that he has a lot of room to improve before he makes a big time impact in the NBA. LaVine didn’t play against the Thunder — perhaps a chance for him to rest his legs a little bit and perhaps a time for him to just sit back and watch. LaVine has seemed to rush at times during the preseason and his decision-making has been questionable. That said, he’s also shown flashes of brilliance. It’ll be interesting to see what Saunders decides to do with LaVine on Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers, though LaVine should be back in the rotation.
BACK IN THE CITIES
Minnesota will return to Target Center on Tuesday night for its final home game of the preseason. It technically hosted a “home” game last week, though that game was played in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Minnesota is 1-0 at Target Center this preseason after a 116-110 win over the Philadelphia 76ers a couple weeks ago.