Sunday
It's an early start game for the Wolves and Spurs, which means they don't do a shootaround session in the morning. The Wolves load the bus at 3:45 p.m., signing a few autographs along the way from fans, and heading to the arena for pregame warmups. On this night, Derrick Williams is actually already at the arena working on his moves to the basket with Shawn Respert. He's been one of the first people on the court lately, but in San Antonio he was there before the first bus. Good to see him get the extra work in.
It's a tough loss to the Spurs--the team's third straight on this road trip. We wrap things up in the locker room and head over to the loading dock where our buses sit. Depending on the airport, we'll sometimes do our security clearance checkpoint at the arena before we travel to the airport--San Antonio was one of those situations. We hop on the bus and arrive at the airport for what would be a 38-minute flight to Dallas-Fort Worth.
One thing I wanted to touch on in this post is the in-flight food. The Metz family definitely were impressed with the amount of food presented to them on the trip, and that includes the in-flight hospitality from one city to another on the plane. Each night there is something offered--anything from steak to burritos to meat loaf. Sunday night's meal was stuffed chicken. After the entree, there is the option of getting cookies and milk, or ice cream bars, or both. There is no shortage of options for late-night food on the plane.
Monday
The Timberwolves wrapped up their six-day, four-city road trip in Dallas on Monday night. You can tell by the time you get to the final day of an extended trip that it's time to be getting home. With the game in San Antonio on Sunday night, the Wolves didn't shoot around on Monday morning and got a chance to rest up for the game on Monday night. It's a late start at 7:30 p.m., so players have until 5:15 p.m. to do what they need to do to prepare at the hotel for the game. We take the bus over to American Airlines Center at 5:15, and players immediately get dressed and head out to the court for additional pregame shots and and workout sessions with the player development coaches and training crew. Mark Cuban is roaming around the court early on in the pregame. It is J.J. Barea's first trip back to Dallas, so he is clearly excited to be back in the building where he spent his first five years in the league. The in-game host alludes to Barea in his pregame routine, saying he loves Barea and that Barea can score 30 tonight as long as the rest of the Wolves score five.
I was impressed with AAC, a building that's about 10 years old but has tons of space, huge video screens and a pretty good environment for the fans. Of the arenas the Wolves played in this week, Dallas probably has the most spacious venue, while Oklahoma City had a pretty electric atmosphere. Both were probably the most impressive stops on the road trip.
We wrap up the game, go through our security check points at the arena and take off four the airport. We get on the plane around 10:30 p.m., take off for a 1 hour, 38 minute flight back to MSP and arrive around 12:15 a.m. Another late night returning home after six days on the road.
I hope this blog gives you a little bit of an indication of what it's like on the road in the NBA. It's a unique lifestyle filled with flights, late-night check ins and games on a nightly basis. The Wolves do this schedule 41 games during the regular season. I found it to be fascinating to be part of the journey and see all the people and routines that make up life on the road.