Minnesota Timberwolves

Timberwolves vs. Knicks: Inter-conference match-up

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Minnesota Timberwolves square-off against the Knicks in New York on Wednesday in an exciting game surely to be full of offense.

The New York Knicks’ self-proclaimed super team currently stands at 8-9. The Knicks have had some impressive highs on the season and some pretty low lows.

The Timberwolves have had a very shaky start to the season, but it’s still early. We’ve seen the Wolves run up the score on teams with offensive weapons, mainly by utilizing the duo of Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony-Towns.

The Wolves have mostly had problems with roster depth and with second half play. The Knicks’ problems center on rotations and sharing the ball among a number of scorers.

The Timberwolves’ third quarter play has been atrocious; the Wolves score the least amount of third quarter points in the league at 20.2 points per game, while their opponents average 28.2 points per game in the third quarter. This eight point third quarter spread has killed the Wolves this season.

The Knicks have not been reaching their offensive potential this season. A team with a “healthy” Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, and Kristaps Porzingis was expecting to be very powerful on offense. The only issue is, all three of these guys want the ball all the time.

During some games, Porzingis only gets up 10 shots while in other games he gets 20 or more. The Knicks do better when Porzingis has the ball and when the offense runs through him, and they play better when Porzingis is playing center and Noah is on the bench.

This will not be an easy game for the Timberwolves, but because of the Knicks rotation problems, the Wolves should be able to pull out a win.

Feb 20, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine (8) against the New York Knicks at Target Center. The Knicks defeated the Timberwolves 103-95. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota Timberwolves Preview

Record: 5-12 (home 3-5, road 2-7)

Starting Lineup

PG – Ricky Rubio (6.5 PPG, 6.4 APG, 1.5 SPG)

SG – Zach LaVine (19.9 PPG, 2.8 APG, 3.3 RPG)

SF –Andrew Wiggins (22.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.2 APG)

PF – Gorgui Dieng (10.6 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.4 BPG)

C – Karl Anthony-Towns (21.0 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.3 BPG)

Key Reserves

One of the most interesting things to come from the Timberwolves win over the Phoenix Suns last Friday was the point guard position’s plus-minus. Ricky Rubio and Kris Dunn both finished the game with a -4 while Tyus Jones had +22. This might just be a fluke thing, but the difference in +22 and -4 is huge; Jones should be seeing the floor much more in the coming future.

Shabazz Muhammad has been improving ever-so-slightly over the last few games, but is still shooting a terrible 21.4 percent from three-point range. Nemanja Bjelica is not a guy that thrives against teams like the Knicks, but he should still be an offensive weapon for the Wolves.

Feb 20, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) greets Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins (22) at Target Center. The Knicks defeated the Timberwolves 103-95. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

New York Knicks Preview

Record: 8-9 (home 7-3, road 1-6)

Starting Lineup

PG – Derrick Rose (16.8 PPG, 4.9 APG, 4.4 RPG)

SG – Courtney Lee (9.6 PPG, 1.8 APG, 2.9 RPG)

SF – Carmelo Anthony (22.7 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.6 APG)

PF – Kristaps Porzingis (20.9 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.5 BPG)

C – Joakim Noah (4.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 3.1 APG)

Key Reserves

One of the biggest pieces for the Knicks is Brandon Jennings. He backs up Derrick Rose, getting 21 minutes per game. Of course, there are plenty of teams that would love to have Jennings as their starting point guard.

Justin Holiday has been seeing the floor plenty and shooting an impressive 43.2 percent from three. Kyle O’Quinn has not done much for the Knicks so far this season, but he has potential to be a solid power forward in this league. Expect him to see the floor quite a bit.

Nov 26, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) controls the ball against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Three Things to Watch

1. Ricky Rubio stopping Derrick Rose. Rubio is a very good defender and should do fine stopping Rose’s drive. Could this be bad for the Wolves? If Derrick Rose gets on a drive he could take a shot or make a poor pass. If Rubio stops the drive, he’ll throw the ball to Melo or Porzingis, putting them in an isolation situation where they could take advantage of the young Wolves.

It might be crazy, but it also might be true.

2. How the Wolves defend Porzingis. Kristaps is an emerging talent in the NBA. He’s had multiple 30-point games this season and has the ability to grab 10 or more rebounds per game. He’s a quick, dynamic, 7’-3” scorer and is a pain for defenses.

Stopping Porzingis will be key in the Timberwolves getting a win. Towns vs. Porzingis will be an interesting match-up to watch, with two of the best young stars in the league going up against each other.

3. Highlights on highlights. Porzingis, Wiggins, and LaVine put out highlights of big dunks or shots all the time. This game is sure to have exciting plays by these athletes.

Nov 26, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau on the sideline against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Game Prediction

This will most likely be a close game. Both teams have talent and have shown that they can perform, but have not translated that over to the win column.

The outcome will probably be a Knicks win, but where’s the fun in that? Let’s say that the Timberwolves get the win by a final score of 110-104.