The Wolves have been hit by the injury bug again. And again.
In no particular order:
--Kevin Love, who has worked his way through so many bumps and bruises the past couple weeks, will not play tonight because of a left quad contusion.
--Neither will shooting guard Kevin Martin. Martin hurt his left (non-shooting) thumb late in Friday's loss in New Orleans. An X-ray taken Saturday revealed a non-displaced fracture of the distal phalanx the thumb. Non-displaced means the bone broke, but the pieces of the bone are still aligned. And the distal phalanx is the tip of the thumb. The Wolves said Martin will not need surgery, but is out indefinitely, at least until after the All-Star break.
After enjoying relatively good health from their starting unit for much of the season, the injuries are coming in bunches. Center Nikola Pekovic missed his seventh game Saturday with bursitis in his right ankle. He is not expected until after the All-Star break either.
Tonight's starters: Ricky Rubio, Chase Budinger, Ronny Turiaf, Dante Cunningham and Corey Brewer.
Here are some other pre-game tidbits:
--Both teams are tired. The Wolves didn't tip off Friday in New Orleans until 8:30, which meant a long flight home after their fourth-quarter collapse. The team didn't get to town until about 3:30. The Blazers, meanwhile, lost in overtime at Indiana Friday before flying here.
