The Wolves play on without injured Chase Budinger -- and four others, too -- tonight against a Dallas team that's missing Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion.

Rick Adelman talked to Derrick Williams and Dante Cunningham at this morning's shootaround about being ready to play some backup small forward tonight now that the Wolves are mighty thin there with only starter Andrei Kirilenko completely healthy.

Williams and Cunningham so far this season have been the tag-team injury replacement combo for injured Kevin Love.

If they have to help out Kirilenko at small forward, then Lou Amundson probably will get his chance to play at backup power forward.

Starting shooting guard Brandon Roy is being a called a game-time decision once again tonight. It didn't look like he did much in this morning's shootaround, but it's a good guess he'll miss his second consecutive game because of that sore knee.

Adelman's options for the starter at that spot now that Budinger is out for anywhere from a month to two months probably because of that torn meniscus in his knee and with Roy's knee hurting?

Probably rookie Alexey Shved, or less likely Malcolm Lee.

The Wolves could ask the NBA for an injury exception so they can sign a player to a league-minimum contract without having to waive any of their 10 remaining healthy players, but at this point it doesn't look like they will do so.

Adelman also could play Shved at small forward a little bit -- like he did in the preseason -- in a really small lineup if he needs to do so.