Wolves, Pacers both on rebound
- Font Size:
- Default font size
- Larger font size
By Eric Page | Friday, October 20, 2006 |
Ricky Davis’ homecoming won’t be the only developing story line Saturday night when the Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Indiana Pacers in an NBA exhibition game at The Mark of the Quad-Cities.
It’s the second of three home games the Wolves are playing at alternate sites this preseason — part of a U.S. Bank-sponsored tour that also includes stops in Omaha, Neb., and Grand Forks, N.D. It’s the first NBA game in the Quad-Cities since The Mark hosted a Minnesota-Toronto game in October 2003.
It also will be the second time in six days the Pacers and Wolves face off. Minnesota won 103-87 on Monday night at Indiana.
With less than a week of preseason games remaining, Saturday should be a good gauge of where these teams stand heading into the regular season. Both are only two years removed from reaching their respective conference finals, but each disappointed last season.
The Pacers went 41-41 before being ousted in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, while the Wolves are coming off their worst season in seven years, posting a 33-49 record under first-year coach Dwane Casey.
Indiana, 2-4 in the preseason, was dealt a blow two weeks ago when forward Stephen Jackson fired a gun in the air in an early-morning incident outside an Indianapolis strip club. Teammates Jamaal Tinsley, a former Iowa State star, Marquis Daniels and Jimmie Hunter also were at the scene. Police also found marijuana in the car the players were driving that night, which was registered to Tinsley.
Jackson was charged with felony criminal recklessness last Friday and has a pretrial hearing scheduled for Nov. 1. No drug charges were filed, and all four players are expected to play Saturday.
The Timberwolves expect Davis, who averaged 19.1 points in 36 games after coming over from Boston last season, to team with Kevin Garnett and Mike James to rejuvenate the team’s offense. James, a fifth-year player from Duquesne, averaged 20.3 points for Toronto last season.
Minnesota is 2-2 this preseason and plays at Chicago before flying to the Quad-Cities late tonight.
Garnett led the Wolves with 14 points and 11 rebounds in Monday’s win at Indiana. Davis and James added 12 and 10, respectively, while rookie Randy Foye scored 13 points.
Second-year forward Rawle Marshall scored a game-high 17 points to lead the Pacers in the loss.
Al Harrington, a former Pacer who came back from Atlanta in the offseason, leads Indiana, averaging 16.7 points through four preseason games. Jermaine O’Neal averages 12.3 points and Jackson 10.
Garnett has put up 14.3 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. Davis, a former Davenport North and University of Iowa standout, is averaging 11.5 points, and reserve guard Marko Jaric scores 10 a night.
Eric Page can be contacted at (563) 383-2277 or epage@qctimes.com.
If you go
What: NBA preseason game, Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Indiana Pacers
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: The Mark of the Quad-Cities
Ticket prices: $100 (courtside), $60 (VIP center court), $40, $25, $10
More info: www.themark.org
del.icio.us
Digg
NewsVine
Fark
reddit» More Sports Stories
Highest Rated Articles from the last 7 Days
- Technology News Articles
- Computers, MP3, Phones & More. See Product Pics, Specs & Reviews.
- www.NexTag.com
- Cheap Airfare
- Compare multiple travel sites. Discount web fares made easy.
- www.LowFares.com
- Promoter's Arsenal - Article Equalizer
- Content Generator For Your Website. One-time fee, today only $97.00.
- promotearsenal.com/article
- Ads by Yahoo!
