While Timberwolve’s’ guard D’Angelo Russell missed Saturday’s win against New Orleans for a planned rest day, he also missed Minnesota’s game against Golden State – his former team – on Monday in San Francisco.
Russell was injured in the first quarter of Minnesota’s loss to Atlanta on Friday when he struck the leg with Hawks’ striker Solomon Hill as Russell turned the ball.
The collision caused Russell to briefly hop on one leg in pain, but he stayed in the game. Russell played 21 minutes in loss on Friday before sitting down on Saturday.
But if he was actually injured, why did the wolves cite « quiet » as the reason for his absence?
« With the planned break, you have to inform the league early on, so that was a while ago, » said Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders. « And then in the Atlanta game he got a quad bruise and it swelled up. »
The injury kept Russell out of Game 1 of a two-game-in-three-day set with Golden State, the team that sent him to Minnesota last year. Russell only played 33 games with the Warriors after signing a maximum contract with Golden State at the free agency.
« We were lucky enough to sign D’Angelo, » said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. « In the end it was a coup for us to have a young all-star point guard in free hands. »
Russell was scheduled to play alongside Steph Curry, who sustained an injury earlier in the season. Instead, Russell had to carry the load on a understaffed roster, and casualties increased.
« D’Angelo was a really productive player for us and turned off the lights and played some great games, » said Kerr. “It apparently became a very valuable asset and turned into Andrew (Wiggins) and some draft picks. Ultimately, it’s a story about how the NBA works with trades and picks, business and everything else. I think it went pretty well for everyone, but I enjoyed coaching him and he did a good job while he was here, but he was in the middle of a season for us. »
Ricky Rubio started again for Russell on Monday after the Spaniard starred in Minnesota’s win over New Orleans on Saturday. Saunders said he doesn’t think Rubio will necessarily start any other than coming off the bench, but admitted that this role may be a little more comfortable. Rubio was a rookie throughout his NBA career.
« We did a good job getting the ball to the ground, I thought, last game, » Saunders said. “I found our pace good. D-Lo can do that too. This group continues to get practice time, get better, something we can all do better as the season progresses. »
Saunders has not released an update on Karl-Anthony Towns and Juancho Hernangomez, which are still included in the health and safety logs. Related articles
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Ricky Rubio returns to the lineup of wolves
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