Thursday, 7:27 a.m.
My bad on not updating. Here's the recap from last night.
I'll do some transcribing on the bus today and will have some quotes as well for you.
Nothing like a seven-hour bus drive :(
Wednesday, 9:01 p.m. – end of 3Q
Wolves 81, Nuggets 64
The Wolves pulled away in the third and that had a lot to do with defense leading to offense, which is something that has to make Tom Thibodeau happy. Towns and Wiggins both have 18 points, while Rubio has eight assists and four steals.
It looks like the second unit is going to start the fourth quarter. We’ll see if the starters see the floor again. It’s preseason, so you never really know.
Wednesday, 8:17 p.m. – end of 2Q
Wolves 52, Nuggets 48
The biggest takeaway in the second quarter for me was the impact Ricky Rubio has on this team defensively. Rubio has three steals at the break, but it feels like he caused or was part of three or four other turnovers.
A few other notes from the quarter:
- Nuggets center Nikola Jokic had four fouls in the first half. That’s not good.
- Wolves wing Shabazz Muhammad is playing with tons of energy. That was evident on a put back. Vintage Shabazz. He's got six points and two rebounds.
- When Cole Aldrich screens for Nemanja Bjelica, it either opens up a shot immediately for Bjelica or creates a mismatch with Aldrich. I saw it once or twice in that quarter, although the play didn’t totally develop. Something to keep an eye on throughout preseason and going into the season.
Wednesday, 7:42 p.m. – end of 1Q
Wolves 26, Nuggets 26
Kind of a sloppy start to the game. It almost looked like someone sprayed butter on the ball before the game (this would be kind of funny), but eventually there was some flow to the game.
A few observations:
- The Wolves got to the free-throw line 16 times in the first 12 minutes. That’s good. They only made 10 of those attempts, though, 62.5 percent. Gorgui Dieng drew three fouls and shot 4-for-5 from the line.
- Nemanja Bjelica and Kris Dunn were the first two players off the bench for the Wolves. Bjelica pulled up without hesitation from deep and drained it on his only shot attempt in four minutes. Again, it’s good to see him pull the trigger and not hesitate with that shot.
- I mean this as a compliment. I can’t believe Jameer Nelson is still playing. He’s 34 and it feels like he’s been around forever. Good for him, though. He played nine minutes while getting the start for Denver.
Wednesday, 6:10 p.m.
We are about an hour away from tipoff here at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb.
We were able to chat with both coaches and two players you’re probably interested in hearing about if you follow Minnesota basketball.
First, I asked Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau about balancing playing time in preseason when it comes to getting guys ready for the regular season, but also getting a good look at everyone.
His response:
“That’s the challenge, particularly when you’re new and we have a lot of new players and we have a new system. You’re trying to build rhythm but also get a look at a lot of different players, different combinations.”
I wish I could tell you what to expect tonight as far as playing time for the Wolves goes, but it’s the third preseason game. Crazy things can happen. For example, Nuggets head coach Mike Malone told us before the game that Emmanuel Mudiay, Will Barton, Danilo Gallinari and Jusuf Nurkic will all be resting tonight.
The Nuggets have two players with Minnesota ties.
First, there’s St. Cloud, Minn. native Nate Wolters. Wolters spent last season playing in Turkey after spending time with Milwaukee and New Orleans before that.
Malone expects him to get big minutes tonight and has been impressed with him so far in camp.
“I’ve been really impressed, I’ll be honest. Obviously when I was coaching in Sacramento, he was in Milwaukee,” Malone said. “Getting to know him and seeing him on a daily basis, he’s a good player. He’s crafty with his quickness, he can get into the paint, gets where he wants to go. I think what’s holding him back from being in the NBA right now is his ability to be a consistent, knock-down 3-point shooter and Nate is aware of that and he’s put a lot of time into it, but he’s tough. He’s a tough kid. I really like his toughness and his approach to the game. And like I said, he’s going to get a chance to play tonight and I have no doubt in my mind that he’ll go out there and do a great job for us.”
Wolters told me that one obstacle is getting enough of an opportunity in camp and in preseason to prove that he belongs. Sometimes those opportunities don’t come and when they do, they are small sample sizes.
“There’s only so much you can do in practice and then games, I haven’t had much of an opportunity,” Wolters said before the game. “You’re only going to have a couple shots, it’s not like you’re getting 20-25 shots a game, but just got to play with confidence when you do get an opportunity and go from there.”
And then there’s forward Robbbie Hummel who played 2013-2015 with the Wolves and literally played every position in his final season with the Wolves. He played last year in Italy but signed with the Nuggets this offseason. And that wasn’t a random signing. Hummel and Malone were able to get to know each other after Malone was fired by the Kings and Malone’s friend, the late Flip Saunders, invited him to some of the Wolves’ practices. Saunders always boasted about Hummel and his ability to always be at the right place at the right time.
“I got to know Robbie when I was fired in Sacramento. Flip was nice enough to have me with him and his staff around the team on two separate occasions,” Malone said. “So, I got a chance to see first hand Robbie every single day, his approach, how great of a pro he is. And obviously Flip always did talk about how much he trusted Robbie and having coached him now for a short while in Denver, I can see why. . . He’s a guy you root for because he’s about all the right things on and off the court.”
Hummel said that he remembers Malone being at practices and road trips with the team during his time off.
“We developed a relationship and he’s right, it did kind of lead to me coming here,” Hummel said.
Hummel was a great guy in Minnesota and I’ve said it before, but he’s one of the all-time good dudes in the league.
I’ll be posting every quarter on this and later tonight. The arena is slowly starting to fill up.
Wednesday, 3:11 p.m.
Good afternoon, good friends
We have arrived in Lincoln, Neb., The City of Brotherly Love.
I got a quick little workout in (elliptical while watching ‘New Girl’) and like I promised on Twitter, I’ll answer a few questions that you sent via Twitter before tonight’s game.
My responses aren’t inside information. There just my takes from training camp and preseason thus far.
From @ShaferCorp: top 3 players off the bench to start the season?
The first guy, in my mind, will be Nemanja Bjelica. He’s a power forward, but can also play the 3. Then I think you’re probably looking at rookie point guard Kris Dunn and veteran center Cole Aldrich. Dunn will primarily backup Ricky Rubio, but don’t sleep on him playing shooting guard in spurts, especially if the team has Bjelica and Karl-Anthony Towns on the floor. Those are two big men who can stretch the floor. Aldrich is the main backup at center and he’ll see plenty of action considering he’s solid defensively and Gorgui Dieng and Towns can both play power forward. Shabazz Muhammad will be in this mix, too. Tom Thibodeau really likes the fact he could play 2, 3 or 4 offensively. Whether or not he’ll be able to defensively will be the question. During training camp, it sounded like he was making great strides.
From @pblymylastlogin: Thibs "randomly" switched to a long rotation last preseason game. Is this trend going to continue this game?
I don't think it's random. Preseason is long and as we saw with Gordon Hayward's injury, bad things can happen. I think Thibodeau is seeing what he's got with some players (there is a roster spot up for grabs) while also making sure his core guys are ready for the regular season. But yeah, I would expect to have a deeper bench again tonight.
I also hope this isn't your last log in.
From @CodyOcho5: do KG, Kobe and Duncan all get into HOF on first ballot? What are some of the best HOF classes ever?
Yes. Yes. Yes. Without a doubt. The Basketball Hall of Fame isn’t like baseball where politics come into it. If a guy is a Hall of Famer, he’s in the Hall of Fame. Simple as that.
The best HOF classes of all time. Good question, Mr. Ocho 5.
This year was pretty great with Allen Iverson, Yao Ming and Shaquille O’Neal. The year 2009 sticks out with Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Jerry Sloan and John Stockton, as does 2008 with Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon and Pat Riley. In 1993, Julius Erving and Bill Walton got in. Ricky Barry, Walt Frazier and Pete Maravich all made it in 1987.
But yeah, 2021 is going to be pretty tough to beat. Those are three completely different players who changed the game.
From @BenSchleuss: At what position does Dunn play most of his minutes over the first ½ of the season and why?
Probably 80 percent point guard and 20 percent shooting guard. It’s not that Dunn can’t play shooting guard (I think he can, especially defensively), but he’ll more than likely start the season backing up Ricky Rubio with the second unit, a unit that was really gelling in camp. Again, don’t be surprised to see Rubio and Dunn, or Tyus Jones and Dunn on the floor at the same time in spurts. We saw with Jones and Dunn it could work offensively.
From @HaleyOSomething: will a Thibs/Wiggins/KAT defense be really good or really really good?
I think really, really good. Eventually. Everything is very new to these guys right now. It’ll take a little bit of time, but eventually, this team has the potential to be a top defensive team. Thibodeau reminded us at media day, though, that ‘potential’ is a dangerous word. But Thibodeau is the best defensive coach in the NBA. I would expect great things with time.
From @thisisalie: why hasn’t the nickname Gorguilicious caught fire?
I think we are all afraid Fergie copyrighted all ‘licious’ words.
From @88mugsy88: do you like pretzel thins?
Yes. Especially if I can dip them in spreadable cheese.
I eat like I’m 12. I've had beef jerkey, pretzels and coffee today.
From @Tsinakis29: What is your favorite appetizer at a restaurant?
Nachos. The great thing about nachos is that you can order them and share with the table and still be full. It’s not like a quesadilla. Giving away a part of your quesadilla is a 20 percent hit to your meal. That’s a big commitment and frankly, I don't like my friends that much. The best nachos have real melted cheese. The creamy ‘fake’ cheese is the worst (unless it’s on pretzel thins). I prefer the nachos with chicken, jalapeno peppers, black beans, with a side of salsa and sour cream.
We’ll be walking over to Pinnacle Bank Arena in the next hour and will have pregame interviews with Thibodeau and Nuggets coach Mike Malone up later.
My good friend Troy from the broadcast team ( who says the word 'lit' a lot and it confuses me) and I will be getting a lot of content for you folks tonight.
Wednesday morning
Hi. My name is Kyle Ratke and I am indeed on the road. Well, I'm on a bus and that bus is on the road. But you understand.
It’s 11 a.m. and we are somewhere in Iowa. The last 100 miles has pretty much been the same except I think I saw a McDonald’s at some point. Maybe that was corn. I'm not sure.
We are about 2 ½ hours from Lincoln, Neb., the location of tonight’s Timberwolves and Nuggets game at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
We already posted a scouting report. You can read that here.
Tonight’s game will not be televised or broadcasted via the radio streams, so I’m your eyes and ears tonight. That’s a scary thought but we’ll all get through it.
A few things I’m looking forward to as far as the game goes tonight:
- Kris Dunn played super well against the Nuggets in Summer League. He was primarily going up against Emmanuel Mudiay and Gary Harris (who will not play tonight). After having an eh game on Monday against the Hornets, how will Dunn respond?
- Nemanja Bjelica has been my dude this preseason. Tom Thibodeau has been saying great things about him and that’s because Bjelica is in super good shape. This will be my first time in-person to see Bjelica and his new body in action during a game.
- I’m hoping to chat with Robbie Hummel, a former fan-favorite with the Wolves. I used to see him at the grocery store all the time when he was in Minnesota. I miss those times with Robbie even if he doesn't remember them. After spending last season in Italy, he signed a two-year deal with Denver this offseason. He's one of the good dudes in the league.
For topics that have nothing to do with tonight’s game:
- We left at 6 a.m. from Minneapolis this morning. It was one of those things where I could get a coffee and not nap on the bus, or get a coffee later and nap. I bought a coffee, drank half of it and fell asleep. I don’t get life.
- I had pretzels for breakfast at 10:12 a.m. I’m a wild man.
- My computer is going to die soon because I was watching music videos earlier like an idiot. I’ll update you cats when we arrive in Lincoln. If you’re headed to the game and are cool with being interviewed, get at me on Twitter @Kyle_Ratke.
Talk to you soon.