How are the Minnesota Timberwolves preparing for a rematch with Luka Doncic? With Joe Ingles.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch revealed on Tuesday that Ingles has stepped into Doncic’s role on Minnesota’s scout team as it prepares for a Western Conference first-round playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers that begins Saturday.
We have our scout team ready, and yeah, it’s hard to replicate everything (Doncic) does,” Finch told reporters Tuesday. “We have Joe Ingles kind of simulating some of the things. Gives us a comp on size and IQ, for sure. But it’s certainly tough, and then obviously you have to try and simulate LeBron (James) and the other guys around him.”
Ingles being the stand-in for Doncic at Wolves practices drew a lot of attention on social media from fans who found the comparison to Doncic amusing, which led to reporters in Los Angeles to ask Lakers coach J.J. Redick who his team is using to simulate Anthony Edwards. That’s former Wolves guard Shake Milton and Bronny James, son of LeBron James.
It’s not part of NBA culture anymore to do a scout team, which when I was early in my career and not playing, I was on the scout team every single game in the regular season, so I would always relish the chance to be (Manu) Ginobili, D-Wade or J.R. Smith and take all the shots,” Redick said Wednesday. “But it’s very uncommon that you do that in the regular season, so I don’t even know if these guys are used to that, but it’s something we’ll implement again (Thursday) as well.
Redick is in his first year as an NBA coach and is hoping to lead the Lakers past the first round after last season’s early exit against the Denver Nuggets. While this is his first experience as a coach, Redick is familiar with the playoff routine.
I’ve said this kinda all year, every experience this year has been simultaneously different but the same,” he said. “My job and role is different than it was in the 14 years I played in the playoffs as a player, but a lot of this feels familiar, just the job I have to do is different.”
