MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Ricky Rubio did not practice on Monday because of a sprained right elbow and was scheduled to meet with a doctor later in the day to try to determine the extent of his injury.
Rubio was injured in the second half of Saturday night’s loss to the Sacramento Kings, and coach Tom Thibodeau said Monday that they would have to wait for the doctor to evaluate an MRI exam before they knew more about a timeline for his recovery.
Rubio is an integral part of a young Wolves team trying to end a 12-year playoff drought. His veteran leadership, passing and defense are needed on a team that has started the season 0-2.
If he cannot play in the home opener on Tuesday night against Memphis, rookie Kris Dunn would get the start.
”Next man up,” Thibodeau said when asked if Dunn was ready to start this early in his tenure. ”You don’t get here by accident. You’re here, you’re a great player, get in there and get the job done.”
Dunn was the fifth overall pick out of Providence in June and he has impressed Thibodeau early with his defensive acumen. The demanding coach has said that the 22-year-old Dunn is ”NBA-ready” from a defensive perspective right now, and he lauded his young point guard’s effort on that end through the first two games.
The bigger challenge for all rookie point guards is organizing and running an offense. With Karl-Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine and Andrew Wiggins at his disposal, it would be up to Dunn to keep the mouths fed and the ball moving if he has to step in for Rubio for any stretch of time.
”Defensively he’s done a lot of good things and I think the more experience he gets the better he’s going to play,” Thibodeau said. ”He’s learning. He’s getting better each day. There will be some ups and downs, but his intensity will cover up for things.”
Dunn said getting those first two games on the road under his belt has helped him adjust to the speed of the NBA game, particularly in the fourth quarter. If he is needed to start, he said he will be ready.
”I’ve been playing in some tough situations the last two games and those are the type of games I like to play in,” Dunn said. ”If Ricky doesn’t have the chance to play tomorrow night or any other games that go further along, I just have to step up and be ready.”
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