Timberwolves interim coach Sam Mitchell didn't speak to his starting five after he benched them for most of Friday's second half at Milwaukee. He said there's no reason to do so.
"What do you think? What else needs to be said?" he said before Saturday night's home game vs. Brooklyn, a 132-118 Wolves victory. "If I need to say something after that, after you're not playing the second half, then you don't need to be playing basketball. I don't think there's anything to say. I thought I said it loud and clear last night."
Mitchell praised starting shooting guard Zach LaVine's play, but the coach said his actions spoke loudest about his starters' overall play. Only the second unit got the Wolves — trailing by as many as 27 points — back into the game during a 116-101 loss to the Bucks.
After that loss, young Wolves star Andrew Wiggins said: "If that's his plan, that's his plan. … I played hard."
Rookie star Karl-Anthony Towns was upset and agreed to answer three questions from reporters.
"There's nothing left to say, at that point you start nagging," Mitchell said. "I said what I had to say last night by not playing those guys in the second half. Everyone wants to play, but it's not about just playing. You've got to play with a purpose. Our guys play hard and they try, I just felt their purpose wasn't there with our first group as a whole."
Bjelica is better
Injured forward Nemanja Bjelica declared himself feeling much better after he returned to the court and some basketball activities Saturday, his first such work on a strained right foot that caused him to miss his ninth consecutive game.
Bjelica could return for the first time since the All-Star break on a four-game road trip that begins Friday at Oklahoma City.
