Todd Barin
Web Editorial Associate
A day after the Timberwolves pulled out a great win against the Boston Celtics, they were back in the gym working on their craft before heading off to Toronto.
There were a lot of great takeaways from last night’s game but Tyus Jones’ performance may have been one of the biggest headlines, as the rookie turned in nine points, two rebounds, an assist and steal in 16 minutes of action.
“It felt great last night, just being out there, trying to help the team and contribute as much as possible and we got a win, that’s the most important thing,” Jones said.
The MVP of last year’s NCAA Final Four provided the Wolves with a spark in the second quarter as he came up with a steal and hustled to get the ball and finish with a layup.
“I think that just got me going a little bit, settled me in,” Jones said. “Just a 50-50 ball and coach talks about how we have to make those plays and win as many of those as we can. That was just a small example of how a small play can kind of turn things around.”
Another player who has been on his game as of late is Zach LaVine, who got the start for Tayshaun Prince in last night’s game.
“Of course you always want to be in the starting lineup, I feel like I’m a starter, so you just have to play for that, play up to it, I feel like I can space the floor out, I feel like I’m a pretty good scorer, so I can help the first group out,” LaVine said. “With me, Wig and KAT, I feel like that’s gives pretty good and different combinations to score on you.”
Minnesota will travel to Toronto this afternoon as they prepare to take on the Raptors tomorrow night.
“We feel good, we feel like we could have won all three games, but that’s how it was rolling,” LaVine said. “We have to learn how to finish out games and quarters and I think we’ll be alright.”
Nikola Pekovic Update
Earlier today, the team announced that Pekovic would be out indefinitely to keep rehabilitating his Achilles injury he suffered last season.
“The normal recovery is about nine to fifteen months, that’s the normal recovery,” Arnie Kander, Vice President of sports performance for the Timberwolves said.
“Then you look at certain factors, position and size. We dealt with a few different things in this situation, first it wasn’t a traumatic injury, which makes it a little bit different, the second is we have so much data and information that we’re looking at that we’re constantly monitoring his progress.”
There’s a slight chance Pekovic could play again this season, but Kander and his staff are taking every precaution necessary to ensure that the Yugoslavian center is completely healthy.
You can read the full press release here.