Lindsey LaBelleWeb Editorial AssistantEmail
Shooting guard Brandon Roy had a full-contact practice today that helped boost his confidence as he awaits the green light to play for the first time since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery last month.
"No setbacks, but again I've just been going 1-on-1 up until today since that last practice, but no, no setbacks," Roy said. "Biggest thing is just, you know, I felt a little rusty at times today just because I haven't been in a 5-on-5 setting, but that's why I think it was important to stay out there and scrimmage as much as we did."
No timetable is set for Roy’s return, but coach Rick Adelman said he looks good on Wednesday.
"He did fine, I don't see any problems with him at all,” Adelman said. “So every day we'll see how he feels.”
Roy says with a difficult road schedule, it's tough to get enough 5-on-5 practice in, but today and tomorrow will give him some much-needed time with the rest of the Wolves.
"He looked good," Nikola Pekovic said. "I mean, his experience, and he's so smart in the game, and I just hope he will stay healthy so he can get in and help us."
Roy is eager to play, and while he hasn’t experienced pain in practice, he won't know how he'll perform until game night. Most of his workouts up through Thursday have been individualized workouts.
"Practices are good because you get a chance to see where you're at," Roy said. "It's hard going from four weeks of treatment and 1-on-1 to having to go to a game setting, so it's good to simulate that as much as possible."
As the Wolves look to reintroduce yet another player onto the court, everyone agrees there's no fast road to adjusting for newcomers during a game.
"I think it takes its time," Adelman said. "But I think the other thing is every player's been very inconsistent. Each game is somebody different and it's kind of hard to find where you're going to go to because the guys have been up and down in the way they've shot the ball and the way they've played, so you don't, really, but when you bring guys back, then you are trying to do with different people all the time. One night we're closing with Luke [Ridnour] and JJ [Barea], and then it was Alexey [Shved], JJ., or Alexey and Luke. It makes it difficult to try to get any type of a rhythm knowing what you're going to do at the end."
"We are getting better, I think, every game," Pekovic said. "If you can see from the beginning of the season, you know, just playing good first half, and then in the third quarter we'll give up, and then fourth quarter we've got our difficulties.
Now, Pekovic says the Wolves have been playing a quality 48 minutes in recent games, but making smart decisions at the end of each game can be the difference between a win and a loss.
Ricky Adds Minutes:
Ricky Rubio played a total of 21 minutes at 23 seconds in last night's loss to the Houston Rockets, but Adelman says he's still on the road to recovery.
"It's a process with him," Adelman said. "It's going to be a process. He's got to get his rhythm back and when he plays, you know, you knew it wasn't going to be easy, and we'll just take it each day."
Ricky has been pushing himself in order to return as a top playmaker for his team, but returning to his comfort zone is going to take time and patience.
"I think he's trying to do too much. He's trying to make plays and do what's right for the team and sometimes he does need to let the game come to him."
Quick Hits: