Tuesday Practice Report

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Jonah Ballow
Wolves Editor/Writer
Email / Twitter

The main topics surrounding Tuesday's practice was the health of Al Jefferson, Jonny Flynn and Wayne Ellington. Let's start with the good news.

Big Al participated in his second straight day of practice and is ready for the season opener on Wednesday night. The team will continue to monitor his minutes with a careful eye on the tendonitis that was giving Jefferson issues.

Kurt Rambis DOWNLOAD MP3 Al Jefferson DOWNLOAD MP3 Jonah Ballow with Ryan Hollins DOWNLOAD MP3 Jonah Ballow with Nathan Jawai DOWNLOAD MP3

Unfortunately, the flu bug has hit the rookie tandem of Flynn and Ellington. For the second consecutive practice, both players could not suit up while recovering from flu-like symptoms. The guards told Rambis they are feeling better but their status remains questionable for the contest against New Jersey.

"Jonny and Wayne both said they're feeling better right now, but we'll have to wait and see how Flynn's doing ... if they're feeling much better, and they're coming to shootaround, there's no reason they shouldn't play," Rambis reiterated.

Kevin Love will miss the next 4-8 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair his fourth metacarpal. The absence of Love offers an opportunity for center Ryan Hollins. Last year, Dallas used Hollins in limited minutes until the playoffs, where he shined against the Spurs. Hollins' eyes opened when discussing defense at the practice facility on Tuesday afternoon. In 2009-10, Minnesota struggled inside the interior but Hollins is an athletic 7-footer that will challenge shots around the rim.

"Defense is my thing, so hopefully just being active, communicating with my teammates, just bringing energy and trying to cover up some of the mistakes that we make," Hollins said.

One BIG addition to the Wolves squad is a somewhat unknown player from Australia. Minnesota acquired the 280-pound post player just a week ago to add frontcourt depth. Rambis is pleased with the progress from Jawai on the court and off-the-court he exudes an outgoing personality. Jawai averaged 11.1 points and 6.4 boards in D-League action.

"This is going to be my fifth year now playing basketball, so I'm pretty new to the game. I was at this place in Australia called Australian Institute of Sports. It's like a university, but for sports. I was there for two years and played for the national team there, and then came here for college for six months... Played professional back home, and got drafted by Indiana and then traded to Toronto. So I spent a year up there, didn't play much, and in the off season this summer I got traded to Dallas with the Sean Marion trade, and then from there up here. It's been a journey so far, but it's a business and I can't let that bother me. I just have to work hard, and get myself some minutes so that I can show people that I can play in this league," Jawai said.

The Wolves shootaround tomorrow morning before hitting the Target Center floor in front of a raucous opening night crowd at 7 PM.

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