Wolves Weekend Recap
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Heading into the Wolves west coast swing this weekend Coach Randy Wittman wanted his team to get off to better starts and before the team took off said that might mean a change in the starting lineup.
Well, on Friday night in Sacramento that change came to fruition as Sebastian Telfair took over the starting duties from Randy Foye and Kevin Love started in place of Ryan Gomes.
"I'm just trying to get us off the better starts, we've been sluggish in our starts the past three games, and when you play a close game down the wire that can sometimes be the difference," said Wittman "We are just trying something different to see if we can get off to a higher energy start."
Love, who was making his first NBA start after coming off the bench for the first 4 games, said he didn't try to change anything.
"I'm always gonna play the same way regardless of whether I'm starting or coming off the bench or I'm starting. Basically I'm just gonna come in there try to get rebounds, go to the offensive glass, defensive glass, come in there with energy and try to put some points up on the board."
Love did just that, scoring a career high 20 points in 30 minutes, while grabbing eight rebounds. Telfair added 15 points and seven assists but the Wolves still trailed 36-27 after the first quarter and ended up falling 121-109.
The following night that same starting line up helped the Wolves get off to a faster start as they led their Northwest Division foe, the Portland Trailblazers, 24-18 after one. The lead was thanks largely to seven first quarter points by Al Jefferson, who ended with a game high 27, but Minnesota fell 97-93.
The Wolves will look to end their 5-game losing streak on Tuesday in Oakland when they face off with the Golden State Warriors.
Golden State, who lost Baron Davis to the Clippers during the off season, will be without Monte Ellis Tuesday after he injured his ankle in a moped incident this summer.
Wolves assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff said even with those guys out, the Warriors do have Corey Maggettee, and a Don Nelson-coached team will create some match up issues.
"With a Don Nelson coached team, they can go off at any moment. They have the ability to score the basketball and they are gonna try to score in a hurry. So you have to be consistent in your game plan and what you do, and play at your pace. You can't get caught up in the game that they want to play; they want to go up and down, up and down. You have to control the tempo, not saying you don't want to run when you have opportunities, but you don't want to get caught up in their style of game."
The Warriors come into play with a 2-5 record, and coming off a 115-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings Sunday, their second straight loss.
Last season, the Warriors took 3-of-4 from Minnesota but the Wolves won the last game of the series 109-108 behind 35 points from Ryan Gomes.
Tip off Tuesday is at 9:30, the game can be seen on KSTC-TV Ch. 45 and heard on KFAN-AM 1130 and the Wolves Radio Network. Network pregame begins at 9pm.
Well, on Friday night in Sacramento that change came to fruition as Sebastian Telfair took over the starting duties from Randy Foye and Kevin Love started in place of Ryan Gomes.
"I'm just trying to get us off the better starts, we've been sluggish in our starts the past three games, and when you play a close game down the wire that can sometimes be the difference," said Wittman "We are just trying something different to see if we can get off to a higher energy start."
Love, who was making his first NBA start after coming off the bench for the first 4 games, said he didn't try to change anything.
"I'm always gonna play the same way regardless of whether I'm starting or coming off the bench or I'm starting. Basically I'm just gonna come in there try to get rebounds, go to the offensive glass, defensive glass, come in there with energy and try to put some points up on the board."
Love did just that, scoring a career high 20 points in 30 minutes, while grabbing eight rebounds. Telfair added 15 points and seven assists but the Wolves still trailed 36-27 after the first quarter and ended up falling 121-109.
The following night that same starting line up helped the Wolves get off to a faster start as they led their Northwest Division foe, the Portland Trailblazers, 24-18 after one. The lead was thanks largely to seven first quarter points by Al Jefferson, who ended with a game high 27, but Minnesota fell 97-93.
The Wolves will look to end their 5-game losing streak on Tuesday in Oakland when they face off with the Golden State Warriors.
Golden State, who lost Baron Davis to the Clippers during the off season, will be without Monte Ellis Tuesday after he injured his ankle in a moped incident this summer.
Wolves assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff said even with those guys out, the Warriors do have Corey Maggettee, and a Don Nelson-coached team will create some match up issues.
"With a Don Nelson coached team, they can go off at any moment. They have the ability to score the basketball and they are gonna try to score in a hurry. So you have to be consistent in your game plan and what you do, and play at your pace. You can't get caught up in the game that they want to play; they want to go up and down, up and down. You have to control the tempo, not saying you don't want to run when you have opportunities, but you don't want to get caught up in their style of game."
The Warriors come into play with a 2-5 record, and coming off a 115-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings Sunday, their second straight loss.
Last season, the Warriors took 3-of-4 from Minnesota but the Wolves won the last game of the series 109-108 behind 35 points from Ryan Gomes.
Tip off Tuesday is at 9:30, the game can be seen on KSTC-TV Ch. 45 and heard on KFAN-AM 1130 and the Wolves Radio Network. Network pregame begins at 9pm.
