Jan 22, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins (22) dribbles in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Target Center. The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets 111-108. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
The Timberwolves host the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night as they attempt to continue their winning ways.
After beating the Phoenix Suns on an Andrew Wiggins jumper at the buzzer on Tuesday, the Wolves remained two-and-a-half games back of the Denver Nuggets and the eighth-spot in the Western Conference. Heading into Thursday night’s tilt against the Pacers, Minnesota remains two-and-a-half back.
But perhaps more importantly, the Wolves have now won six of their last eight contests, including three in a row with two of the victories coming on the road.
Things are clearly taking a turn for the better in Minnesota, and there’s a real chance that it could continue on Thursday evening against the Indiana Pacers, who currently hold a 22-22 record and are sitting in the seventh-spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Wolves should be at full strength for the game while the Pacers could be without two or three key players.
Scroll to the right for the preview…
Jan 24, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Timberwolves defeated the Suns 112-111. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Minnesota Timberwolves Preview
Record: 17-28 (10-13 home, 7-15 away)
Starting Lineup
PG – Ricky Rubio (7.9 PPG, 8.0 APG, 3.9 RPG, 1.8 SPG)
SG – Zach LaVine (19.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3 APG)
SF – Andrew Wiggins (22 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.4 APG)
PF – Gorgui Dieng (10.8 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 2 APG, 1.2 BPG)
C – Karl-Anthony Towns (22.4 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 3 APG, 1.5 BPG)
Key Reserves
After a near-triple-double in Rubio’s absence over the weekend, struggled mightily in limited playing time on Tuesday in Phoenix, and Tyus Jones didn’t see the floor after playing well on Sunday.
Shabazz Muhammad was great, scoring 16 points on nine shots in 26 minutes of playing time against the Suns. He received crunch-time minutes, essentially replacing Nemanja Bejlica for stretches as part of the bench rotation.
Cole Aldrich continues to play sparingly, although he had his best stint in recent memory on Sunday.
Jan 24, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Timberwolves defeated the Suns 112-111. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Indiana Pacers Preview
Record: 22-22 (16-6 home, 6-16 away)
Starting Lineup
PG – Jeff Teague (15.5 PPG, 8 APG, 4.1 RPG)
SG – Paul George (22.2 PPG, 6 RPG, 3.2 APG)
SF – Glenn Robinson III (6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 0.8 APG)
PF – Thaddeus Young (11.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.7 APG)
C – Myles Turner (15.7 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 2.3 BPG)
Key Reserves
The Pacers will likely be without Monta Ellis, who went down with an ankle sprain in the Pacers’ loss to the Knicks on Monday night. Backup point guard Aaron Brooks missed the last game due to injury as well, and Rodney Stuckey has been out for over a month with a hamstring issue.
Indiana’s bench is keyed by C.J. Miles (10.6 PPG, 40.5 3P%) and old friend Al Jefferson (8.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG), but there isn’t much else there. Head coach Nate McMillan doesn’t rely on his starters quite as much as Tom Thibodeau, but it’s close. Four Pacers starters average north of 30 minutes per game with Paul George logging 35.4 minutes per night.
Jan 24, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Timberwolves defeated the Suns 112-111. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Three Things to Watch
1. George vs. Wiggins. This is an easy one. Paul George and Andrew Wiggins should have an intriguing battle, especially now that Wiggins is back on the upswing and coming off of a game-winner just 48 hours prior.
George has been great but has relied more on his jumper in his age-26 season than he has in prior years. That said, his shooting percentages are extremely impressive.
2. The point guard battle. Outside of George, the Pacers rely heavily on Jeff Teague and Myles Turner. Ricky Rubio will be tasked with holding the dynamic Teague in check, while Kris Dunn will have to do a great job off the bench of staying attached to the deadly Miles around screens and beyond the arc.
More from Dunking with Wolves
The Wolves point guards will have their hands full in this one, and Dunn will need to perform more like the Sunday, near-triple-double version of himself than the Tuesday, five-turnover Dunn that hopped on the team flight to Phoenix.
3. Old friends. Former Timberwolves second-round draft selection Glenn Robinson III will be returning to Minnesota as the Pacers starting small forward. Even though he was just selected in the 2014 NBA Draft, the brass that chose him in Flip Saunders and Milt Newton is no longer in Minnesota.
Thaddeus Young is Indiana’s starting power forward and came over along with Andrew Wiggins in the infamous Wiggins-for-Kevin Love swap that same summer. He was only on the team for a few months and was shipped to Brooklyn in the Kevin Garnett trade in February of 2015.
Al Jefferson was the key cog in the original Kevin Garnett many moons ago and had three strong seasons in Minneapolis before being sent to the Utah Jazz by former president of basketball operations David Kahn. After three seasons in Utah and three up-and-down years in Charlotte, Big Al is now a rotational big man for a borderline playoff team in the Pacers.
January 19, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau watches game action against the Los Angeles Clippers during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Game Prediction
If the Timberwolves are going to stay in the playoff conversation and manage to reach somewhat of a respectable win-loss record come spring, these are the games they need to win.
They’ve won six out of eight games and are coming off an exciting road win, returning home to face a battered team from the Eastern Conference with a .500 record. The Pacers are a decent team, of course, but conditions are ripe for the Wolves to continue their hot streak.
Of course, Wolves fans have seen these types of games end in heartbreak, too. This one might lurch in that direction, but let’s call it a 105-100 Timberwolves victory instead.
