Timberwolves

11/28 PREVIEW: Timberwolves Work Through Injuries in Preparation for Wizards

(photo credit: Jim Faklis)

The Minnesota Timberwolves have played their past two games without their starting point guard, Jeff Teague. Similarly, the Washington Wizards have also been void of their lead ball-handler. All-Star John Wall has missed the past four Wizards games, and did not travel with the team to Minneapolis for Tuesday’s matchup.

Wall’s absence means Tim Frazier will start for the visiting Wizards. For Minnesota, Teague’s fill-in remained vague following Tuesday’s shootaround. Teague did participate today but did so in a limited role. The other injured Wolves player, Nemanja Bjelica, did the same.

“We’ll see tonight, (Jeff) did some of the shootaround so he’ll warm up and see where he is after he warms up,” said Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau, who also gave a similar prognostication for Nemanja Bjelica. “Bjelly did some of (shootaround), so he’s probably the same.”

Thibodeau, however, did offer that Teague is “probably a little further along” than Bjelica.

Bjelica’s injury is to the same foot that he broke last season. That injury was rather severe. It caused the 6’10” Bjelica to not only miss the Wolves final 17 games but also prevented him from playing for the Serbian National Team this summer.

Bjelica was quick to downplay the more recent injury on Tuesday. He confirmed he was able to do “pretty much everything” at shootaround.

“I just sprained my ankle,” he said. “It’s the same foot but a different spot.”

Teague seemed a bit more perturbed with his strained achilles, an injury he suffered last Wednesday by stepping awkwardly on Elfrid Payton’s foot.

The Wolves were up 26 points entering the fourth quarter of that game against the Orlando Magic. Teague and the starters were forced to re-enter the game after the starters allowed a 15-0 Magic run to start the fourth quarter. The injury occurred on this play with 1:22 left in that fourth quarter, a discernable negative externality of blowing that lead.

“I’ve never really missed games so it’s a little different for me,” said Teague, who played all 82 games for the Indiana Pacers last season and has only missed 17 total games over the four seasons prior on the Atlanta Hawks.

If Teague cannot go, Tyus Jones will likely garnish the start against the Wizards and their backup point guard Frazier. Jones thrived in his first career start against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, tallying seven steals and seven assists in a packed box score.

This morning, he described the difference in role-playing with the starters.

“Jimmy, KAT, Wigs need the ball,” Teague said. “How I look at it is, just keep the ball moving… With the second unit, it’s a little bit different, I’m trying to be a little bit more aggressive. But with the first unit, I’m just trying to make sure they’re all getting the ball.”

Washington Wizards head coach, Scott Brooks, has a different strategy with his backup point guards. Brooks, a journeyman backup point guard himself, said he never changed the way he played when stepping in for a starter.

“I never did (change my game) because I was smart enough to know I wasn’t as good as the guy in front of me,” Brooks said. “I had to play my game.”

The Wizards coach did draw parallels between his career and the trajectory of Jones’ career.

“I had to change my game from college. I was a scorer from college and changed in order to get in the NBA.”

Regarding Jones, Brooks was very complimentary.

“He has played well… It’s about identifying the strengths you have for your team, I think coach Thibodeau does that well. With Tyus, he understands he has to be a consistent effort player.”

Whether it is Teague or Jones, and with or without Bjelica, the Wolves will need to bring that consistent effort on the final game of the four-game homestand.


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