PHILADELPHIA -- Malcolm Lee, who sat out the Timberwolves’ victory over Milwaukee Friday with a groin injury, is healthy and should start at the shooting guard spot tonight against Philadelphia.
That would mean J.J. Barea would return to his position as coming off the bench to lead the second unit at point guard. It also gives coach Rick Adelman another good perimeter defensive player.
Lee said he’l l have to monitor the injury going forward. “I think it happened because I got a contusion in one of the games, and I started compensating,” he said after Tuesday’s morning shootaround. “And that’s how I pulled {the groin muscle}.”
With all the injuries, Lee has started about half of the team’s games this season. And while he’s still looking to become a regular contributor on the offensive end, his defense is something Adelman can rely on – and something Lee takes pride in. Night after night he is defending at one of the most difficult positions on the court.
“Every game they give us a scouting report on tendencies,” Lee said. “I Just like to go over that and watch some film on it, know what they like to do. But I pretty much guard everybody the same – force them to their weak side -- and I try to body them. I don’t like to give them room.”
Here are some other items from today’s pre-game shoot:
--The bug that hit Kevin Love proved to be a bit more tenacious than he expected. Love said he lost nearly 10 pounds during the process. He said he’s only been able to keep food down for the last 24 hours and didn’t get his appetite back until this morning.
But Love – who missed the first part of the season with broken bones in his right hand – said he was finally able to return to the weight room for the first time on Monday. Now it’s a matter of getting his weight back up and his strength back. He’s not there yet.
“It felt good to get back in the weight room after a six- or seven-week absence,” he said. “The hand needs to get there, I need to get my legs back under me. Hopefully, in a couple weeks, I won’t have to talk about that any more, I’ll be back in my rhythm.”
--J.J. Barea said his left mid-foot sprain is still not 100 percent, and that it affects him every time he pushes off the foot to make a move or to attack the basket. “It lets me play,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll get there in the next couple weeks,” he said. “I think it’s improving, maybe a little bit at a time, but it’s slow. I’m waking up every day feeling a little better.”
--Wolves’ president of basketball operations David Kahn was asked if the team would consider a brief stint in the NBA Development League as a part of Ricky Rubio’s return from knee surgery. “We haven’t talked about it yet internally,” he said. “It hasn’t even been broached.’’
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