The Wolves have won three consecutive games and now they're almost getting their full team back just in time for tonight's game against the surprising Atlanta Hawks.
Ricky Rubio will play after being held out of Sunday's victory at Detroit.
So, too, will Shabazz Muhammad, who will make his return after missing a month because of a groin/abdominal strain.
And Nikola Pekovic said at shootaround this morning that it's business as usual with him, which means Flip Saunders isn't following through with his talk a couple days ago that he might sit Pekovic on one half of back-to-back games to help his ankle.
The Wolves' medical staff didn't want Rubio playing consecutive games this soon, so he took the night off on Sunday and now won't be faced with back-to-back games until Feb. 27-28 at Chicago and vs. Memphis.
"I was feeling good so I was kind of mad, but I respect the process," Rubio said about sitting out after carrying the Wolves to an upset victory over Memphis on Friday night.
Muhammad hasn't played since a Jan. 9 game at Milwaukee.He said there hasn't been any discussion about a minutes limit for him tonight.
"I feel good," he said. "My energy's there."
Pekovic played back-to-back games shortly after he returned following a 31-game absence. Games at Atlanta and Oklahoma City were his third and fourth games back.
"When I come back, after three days I play back-to-back," he said after Monday's shootaround. "I wouldn't see the reason I wouldn't play tonight. Nobody even mentioned to me anything. I'm a little tired, but it's OK. I've got lots of time to rest today. I'll be fine tonight."
Both Saunders and Pekovic the other day said it'd benefit his ankle not to play back-to-back games.
Two other things...
* The Wolves have two games left before the All-Star break against the league's two best teams, the Hawks and Golden State.
That also means they have just two games before the Feb. 19 trade deadline, which comes a way before they return from the NBA's elongated All-Star break this year.
There's a good chance somebody from a group that includes Mo Williams, Thad Young, Kevin Martin and possibly Chase Budinger won't be a Wolf by the time the team plays again after nine days away.
Williams is the most likely to go because he's a valuable veteran on an expiring contract.
"I think about it every day," he said. "I have no clue (what will happen). I haven't spoken with them. Neither have they spoken with my. Every day I wake up, if I don't get a call, I'm here."
Martin the other day said he doesn't think about the deadline at all.
Williams probably will fetch a second-round pick in return. The Wolves will shoot higher if they trade either Martin or Young, probably looking for a young lottery-pick player in recent years in return.
Martin's the most marketable, but it also depends on how much a contender values him. You'd think teams that need a shooting and 2-guard help -- Chicago, Washington, Phoenix, Dallas to name a few -- will kick the tires on him.
* Starting tonight, the Wolves' next 14 opponents -- through a March 15 game at San Antonio -- have a combined winning percentage of 63 percent. The only team among those 14 opponents that has a losing record is Denver. Otherwise, it's a murderer's row with the likes of the Hawks, Warriors, Sunds, Rockets, Wizards, Bulls, Grizzlies, Clippers, etc.
