One thing becomes clear after talking with a few Timberwolves players after today's morning shootaround:
This team wants very much to end this zero-for-home thing. The Wolves enter tonight's game with Detroit at Target Center at 5-7 overall, with all five victories coming on the road. At home the team is 0-5 at home. And while both emotions and injuries might have played into that, it has gotten old quickly.
"I hope tonight is the night," Andrew Wiggins said.
The Pistons come into the game with an impressive victory over Cleveland Tuesday, a victory that ended a four-game losing streak. That came after Detroit started the season 5-1.
"It bugs us a lot," Karl-Anthony Towns said of the home losing streak. "You're supposed to protect home at all costs. And we haven' t done that so far this year. So we're going to try to change the tables tonight. It's something that weighs on us. I think it hurts a little more that we see to win all our games away and not at home. It's kind of disappointing.''
Coach Stan Van Gundy's Pistons are 3-4 on the road, having lost their last four. That includes a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center that represents the Lakers' only home win this season.
But it's not something Van Gundy is obsessing over.
"I mean look, it's a game," he said. "You have to come ready to come and play well. I don't think that matters. I mean, it's not my concern. My concern is how well we play.''
Here are some other items from this morning:
--Ricky Rubio has been battling soreness in his left hamstring, but he appears to be a go for tonight.
--Rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns has already faced some tough, physical centers in this young season. He has played Miami's Hassan Whiteside, twice. And Memphis' Marc Gasol. Tonight he gets Detroit's Andre Drummond, who enters the game averaging 19.1 points and 18.9 rebounds.
"He's done an amazing job so far," Towns said of Drummond. "I mean, you're talking about 20-20 games for him. You have to respect him, compete at a high level.
--Van Gundy talked about how strange it was to come to the Target Center for the first time since Flip Saunders' death. "Knowing what happened, it is sort of strange coming in here,'' he said.
