The Wolves didn't shoot around this morning, but the Houston Rockets did. Here are some items from Rockets coach Kevin McHale:
--Center Dwight Howard and guard Patrick Beverley will not play tonight. Both will miss their eighth straight game, Howard with a left ankle strain and Beverley with a right knee sprain. That gives the Rockets an expected starting five of Chandler Parsons and Terrence Jones at forward, Omer Asik at center and James Harden and Jeremy Lin at guard.
--The last time these two teams played Wolves rookie center Gorgui Dieng had 22 points and 21 rebounds, perhaps his most impressive performance in what is becoming a very impressive finish. Count McHale as a fan. "He kind of came out of nowhere," McHale said. "He's active around the rim. He's rebounding very well, blocking shots.''
--McHale also talked about how much better Wolves point guard Ricky Rubio has been of late. "He's been way more aggressive from the games I've seen than he's been in the past,'' McHale said.
That's about it for now. I'll get back to you before the game with a Wolves injury update.
