Next stop: Target Center and preseason opener

We're less than 24 hours from seeing these Rick Adelman-coached Timberwolves play at Target Center for the first time.

I asked Adelman this morning if he's got the concept of a starting lineup in his mind and he said, "Not really, no. I really don't."

He said he'd rather figure out a finishing unit that's going to win games at both ends of the floor.

Here's my best guess: Beasley and Love at the forwards, Pekovic at center, Rubio and Barea at guards.

My reasonings:

* I think Adelman is so concerned about that lack of ball-handling and playmaking everywhere but point guard that he's going to look hard at Barea starting and playing a lot with the other two point guards. If you wondered why they went out and signed him, that's why.

* If you're going to go that small in the backcourt, you probably want to be big elsewhere.

The way Adelman has harped about the team's turnover tendencies and how little he has talked about Darko...I just get the feeling that he's going to go for Pek's fundamentals, physical presence and dependability over Darko's potential and possibilities.

This guy's going to go for chemistry and guys he thinks are will win.

He's said not he's not concerned with developing young players.

That's another reason why I'm not penciling Wes Johnson in at starting shooting guard, like you might have assumed before training camp began.

Now how he'll find time for all these point guards, small forwards and power forwards....well, I have no idea.

He did say he'll probably play 10 guys Saturday night because he wants those he does play to have the chance to develop a rhythm.

It'll going to be fascinating to see what this thing looks like tomorrow night.

Here's the story for Saturday's paper that I wrote about the two point-guard backcourt and Luke Ridnour's thoughts about it after he had gone silent since Barea's signing became imminent.

You'll find it here.

And here's the notebook led by Ricky Rubio talking about his first game at Target Center.

That's all from this brief trip to Mankato.

Next stop: Target Center.

Blog at you Saturday with all the tantalizing details.