As an aggressive on-ball defender, Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker is constantly straddling the line between fouling and playing allowable physical defense.
In Saturday's preseason game against the Knicks, Alexander-Walker was on the wrong side of that line more often than not — officials whistled him for five fouls in 17 minutes of playing time.
When the fifth-year pro went to talk to the officials about some of his calls, he got an answer he wasn't quite expecting — he said the officials told him it was preseason for them, too.
"I'll let them warm up right now," Alexander-Walker joked after Monday's practice.