NBA News 2016: Timberwolves Meet For 90 Minutes After Loss To Sixers; Rondo Misses Game Against Mavs Due To Injury
The Minnesota Timberwolves held an hour-and-a-half meeting after their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.
In a report by NBA.com, interim coach Sam Mitchell huddled his team together at the center of the court, not to conduct a practice session, but rather, it was for the team to have a moment of "soul searching," giving players the opportunity to express their views on what aspect of the game should be changed.
The report described the Timberwolves' 109-99 loss to the Sixers as the team's "most embarrassing performance of the season."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Mitchell did express his satisfaction on the meeting, describing it as a success.
"Everybody was just honest with each other, with the expectations of each other, what we need to give, from each other, to make our team more complete," he said.
According to point guard Ricky Rubio, what he sees as the team's main problem is that they are mainly composed of young guys, which meant having a great disadvantage in the experience department. While he did note that he was not making it an excuse, he also says the team needs to play with more aggression, really wanting to achieve victory.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are currently on seated at the number 13 spot of the Western Conference standings with a record of 12-24. At the time of writing, they are in the first half of their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Target Center.
Meanwhile, Rajon Rondo was missing in action during the Sacramento Kings' game against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night due to a back injury. In a report by Ananth Pandian for CBS Sports, it was the first time Rondo missed a game in the season, which ironically was against his former team.
Rondo suffered the same injury during last season's playoffs, which subsequently ended his stay with the Mavericks. It then caused some tension between him and Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle, as it was believed that Rondo was merely using the injury as an excuse not to be with the team.
The Kings lost to the Mavericks with a score of 117-116.
