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Scouting Report: Wolves at Wizards

Key Matchup: John Wall and Ricky Rubio Wall didn’t make his season debut until Jan. 12 after recovering from a knee injury. Since then, he’s been very solid for Washington, scoring 14 PPG over 25 MPG off the bench. Is he ready to start yet? Washington fans must be clamoring for more minutes from Wall; there isn’t much hope otherwise for a team that sits at the bottom of the league’s win column. Ricky Rubio is coming off a tough matchup against Deron Williams, another athletic point guard that came through town with Brooklyn on Wednesday. Wall, although thinner than Williams, is arguably more explosive and is showing good burst coming back from his injury. Rubio voiced his frustrations after Wednesday’s loss, airing concerns about his team’s will to win, but it’s been a tough season personally as well. This road trip is a must-sweep for Minnesota, and improved play from Rubio would do a lot for the team’s chances. Injury Report The Wolves took the road trip without guard Alexey Shved (sprained left ankle) and center Nikola Pekovic (right quad contusion). Shved is the closer of the two to recovery, and he was doing a full-court workout to test that ankle after practice on Thursday before being ruled out for the weekend. For the Wizards, power forward Cartier Martin is out with a hyper-extended left knee.