The Timberwolves are kind enough to send out information to the local media about interview availability with visiting teams coming to Target Center.
On Sunday, the Wolves sent an e-mail indicating the Nuggets — who play the Wolves on Monday night — would have their traditional pregame shootaround at 10 a.m. Monday. About 30 minutes later came a follow-up e-mail: the Nuggets, in fact, would not be having a shootaround at all.
If you've ever been to a shootaround, it's about what it sounds like: players gather and shoot the ball, maybe go over the game plan, then go back to the hotel and rest before the game. It's basically a ruse to keep them from going out too late the night before (same as it is in the NHL, with the morning skate).
As it turns out, the Nuggets' cancellation could be a team trend, not a one-time thing. Per the Denver Post, coach Brian Shaw said the organization is experimenting with doing away with the shootaround altogether. And the reason, in part, is so that players can party. Or something like that.
There are a couple of reasons for the change. The first is because of sleep studies the Nuggets have seen that show additional uninterrupted rest has a positive impact on the players' attention and energy. The second reason? "When you have a young team, you know, guys like to go out as well," Shaw said. "Am I torturing them by making them get up in the morning when they can be sleeping? And whatever it is they did the night before, maybe they have more time to recover as well."
So if you were out late Sunday in the Twin Cities and saw a bunch of Nuggets players, note that it was sanctioned by the team and that the players are going to still be fully rested for tonight's game.
Feel free to try this at your office and see how it goes. "Uh, boss, I'm not really a morning person and I plan to get pretty annihilated on 2-for-1s tonight. Can we push tomorrow's meeting from 9:30 in the morning to, say 2 p.m.?" Let's see how that works out for you.
