MINNEAPOLIS – Kevin Love missed the last Timberwolves preseason game against the Bulls, and it didn't make a difference.
The positive ends there.
When the Timberwolves beat the Bulls last Saturday, Love had slept funny on his right elbow and was back practicing two days later; after Friday night's second contest against Chicago, he still won't be returning for at least six weeks.
So this game marks the first test of what Rick Adelman and the Timberwolves must do for the next two weeks: adjust, adjust, adjust. No word yet on the coach's starting lineup, but it seems likely that Dante Cunningham, Derrick Williams, Lou Amundson and even Andrei Kirilenko could play at power forward. Last time against Chicago, Cunningham started and scored nine points in 14 minutes, with Amundson and Williams each getting more time at the position (22 and 23 minutes, respectively) but with less production.
Also, Luke Ridnour, who has been struggling off and on with a sore back, did not make the trip to Chicago.
No stranger to injuries: Adelman said Thursday that after his initial shocked reaction when he learned about Love's injury, he had another thought:
"I was just shocked. I couldn't believe it. Here, we're trying to get ready, and then we have something like this happen. I learned a long time ago, I've had so many injuries to good players, I'm starting to think maybe it's me."
Of course Adelman was being tongue-in-cheek, but there's no hiding the fact he's dealt with a situation similar to this one before. In his first season in Houston, Rockets stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming both sustained injuries that required surgery. Neither stayed healthy long-term during Adelman's four-year tenure in Houston, but the team made the playoffs two of those seasons and never finished with a losing record.
Chase Budinger, who was traded from Houston to Minnesota in June, played on Adelman's two Rockets teams that did not make the postseason. However, the team finished with a combined 85-79 record those years, so it obviously responded well to its bad luck, and Budinger has been in this kind of situation before.
"In Houston, we had a lot of injuries as well," Budinger said. "Why we did so well in Houston was the rest of the team stepped up. Other guys took on the challenge of stepping up, having more minutes, doing more things up and down the court. I'm just hoping it's the same reaction for this team."
Not the only injury: Adelman mentioned tangentially on Thursday that the same day Love missed practice to have his hand examined, center Nikola Pekovic also had a doctor's visit. Pekovic was also having hand troubles; Adelman said "he got slapped in the hand." So for a time, the coach was uncertain about two of his starters, not just the one. However, Pekovic returned in time for practice, and his hand seems just fine.
Brandon Roy, elite scorer: On Tuesday, Roy challenged Love in the scoring department, finishing the night with 19 points to Love's 24. In fact, Roy's production came in just 25 minutes, six less than Love spent on the court.
That's not to say Roy is the better scorer or the biggest offensive force. He's still recovering from knee problems, and the level at which he can contribute is undetermined. However, with Love's injury, Roy could very well pick up the role of the team's elite scorer. For now, it'll just be a matter of how quickly he can expand his role while remaining healthy.
"I just think we have to be a little careful," Adelman said. "We don't want to put a big, huge load on him. We want to gradually work him in. But I think we'll be able to do things where we got to him, and I think he's going to be very important to us in the fourth quarter, so you've got to judge that."
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