Wolves' Rubio on return tonight: 'If it feels good, I'll be back'

Ricky Rubio participated in this morning's shootaround in Dallas and said he'll play tonight IF his ankle feels right after pre-game warmups.

"I mean, if it feels good, I'm going to be back," he said. "It depends how it goes. If I don't feel ready in the warmups, I won't be playing. I don't know, we'll see."

Rubio has not played since severely spraining his left ankle on Nov. 7 in Orlando. He has missed the last 42 games.

Veteran Mo Williams said he expects to play after missing the last two games because of a hip pointer.

That would give the Wolves three options at point guard tonight against a Mavericks team missing starting point guard Rajon Rondo.

Newly signed Lorenzo Brown had to play all but five seconds in Saturday's home loss to Cleveland because he was the only healthy point guard the Wolves had.

Rookie Zach LaVine won't play tonight, btw. He missed Saturday's game because of an ankle he sprained Friday in Philadelphia.

Flip Saunders said Saturday that Rubio would likely play "a few minutes" in his return.

Apparently, Rubio only returns against the Mavericks. They were the team he faced in December 2012 in his return after nine months gone following knee surgery. He was supposed to be play very limited minutes that night, too, and ended up delivering an 18-minute, 9-assist performance achieved mostly through the rush of adrenaline.

Asked if he was tempted to play Saturday when Kevin Love returned to Target Center on an emotional sold-out night, he said, "As soon as I step up in the warmups, the arena was already full. It was a great atmosphere but I wasn't feeling ready. So let's see tonight."

Rubio and some of his teammates, including Gorgui Dieng and Robbie Hummel, watched Sunday's Super Bowl at former teammate J.J. Barea's place in Dallas.

"We had a bet between him and me," Rubio said. "He bet for the Patriots, I bet for the Seahawks and it didn't go well. It was a straight bet and I almost got it. I don't know they didn't go for Marshawn Lynch, but it was a fun game to watch."

The Mavericks said today that Rondo will miss at least three games because of nasal and orbital bone fractures sustained when Orlando's Richard Jefferson inadvertently kneed him in the face in Saturday's game.

Devin Harris will start in his place.