Martin, Muhammad both ruled out of Friday's preseason game

The Wolves finished up practice just after noon on Thursday then headed off to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for tomorrow's game against the Bucks.

Kevin Martin, who has battled a groin injury, practiced for a second straight day but will not play Friday, according to coach Flip Saunders. Meanwhile, Shabazz Muhammad's sore heel is better – he is finally rid of the immobilization boot he's been wearing -- but he won't play Friday either.

There is a chance both could play Sunday.

"Kevin won't go," Saunders said. "He had a good day [Wednesday] and went today. But I want him to get a good practice in Saturday and maybe go Sunday. With Bazz, it's probably the same thing.''

Also, center Kyrylo Fesenko, who is sick, missed practice Thursday and did not travel with the team.

Here are some other post-practice nuggets:

--Saunders is still going to try to play a lot of young guys while taking it easy on the veterans, though he didn't say who might not go Friday. While Saunders said he's surprised at how much the young players have been able to absorb in two-plus weeks of camp, he's still looking for much of what is being taught to transfer into games.

--One area where Saunders wants to see improvement, starting with Friday, is in how the team plays its zone defense, something Saunders plans on using quite a bit.