Minnesota Timberwolves

Timberwolves vs. Wizards: Wolves seeking first win of 2017

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:55 p.m. ET

Fansided, Terrence Verwayne/FanSided via Dunking with Wolves

Mar 25, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine (8) prepares to shoot the ball as Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) defends during the first half at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

After dropping the first two games of 2017, including a crushing last second loss in Philadelphia, the Timberwolves find themselves still seeking their first win of 2017.

Unfortunately, the Wolves will be facing an improved Wizards team that is back at home, where they have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 13-6 and have seemed to have turned the proverbial corner since the beginning of December, a month in which they went 10-5.

After going 6-11 to start the season, Washington has really found their groove of late and a large part of that has to do with the play of All-Star point guard John Wall, who averaged 24.5 points, 10.7 assist, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game in December.

Sparked by a 52-point performance against the Orlando Magic on December 6th, the electrifying guard continued his momentum through the remainder of the calendar year to earn Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors.

Minnesota, on the other hand, has not shared the same improvement and are coming off their second consecutive losing month (third if you count their 0-2 stint in October), going 6-9 in December. And although they won two of the last three games before the calendar turned to 2017, they found themselves back on another losing streak for the seventh time this season to start the new year.

Mar 25, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) falls to the court while gaining control of the ball in front of Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (13) during the first half at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota Timberwolves Preview

Record: 11-24 (6-12 home, 5-12 road)

Starting Lineup

PG – Ricky Rubio (7.0 PPG, 7.1 APG, 4.0 RPG, 1.8 SPG)

SG – Zach LaVine (21.1 PPG, 3.0 APG, 3.0 RPG)

SF – Andrew Wiggins (21.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.3 APG)

PF- Gorgui Dieng (10.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.3 BPG, 1.0 SPG)

C – Karl-Anthony Towns (21.6 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.4 BPG)

Key Reserves

Many scouts compared Kris Dunn to John Wall coming out of Providence, and now we all get a chance to how close those comparison are as they go head-to-head for the first time.

Washington and Minnesota are respectively ranked 29th and 30th in the NBA in bench scoring, so it will be imperative for reserves Shabazz Muhammad and Nemanja Bjelica to play well in this game and gain advantage for the Wolves when both bench units are on the floor.

Shabazz has finally been playing up to expectations, averaging 12.2 points a game while shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 64 percent from three-point range in his last five games. Bjelica is a streaky shooter who has been off from three for most of the season but for the Timberwolves to be successful he’ll need to utilize his point forward skills and assert himself with the second unit.

Mar 25, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) drives to the basket as Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) defends during overtime at Verizon Center. Minnesota Timberwolves defeated Washington Wizards 132-129 in double overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Washington Wizards Preview

Record: 16-18 (13-6 home, 3-12 road)

Starting Lineup

PG – John Wall (23.5 PPG, 10 APG, 4.5 RPG, 2.3 SPG)

SG – Bradley Beal (22.1 PPG, 3.6 APG, 2.7 RPG, 1.0 SPG)

SF – Otto Porter (14.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.6 SPG)

PF – Markieff Morris (12.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.1 SPG)

C – Marcin Gortat (11.5 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.0 BPG)

Key Reserves

The Wizards are just as thin (if not thinner) on the bench as the Timberwolves. Second-year small forward Kelly Oubre, Jr. is a talented player but relatively inexperienced and is their main cog coming off the bench but is only averaging 5.7 points per game this season.

Former first-round pick Trey Burke failed to live up to expectations in Utah and has been given another chance in Washington where he is trying to solidify a home for himself as the backup point guard to John Wall. He’s been quiet for most of the season but is capable of having an outburst from time-to-time, as was the case in the Wizards win against the Brooklyn Nets on December 30th when he dropped 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting in 30 minutes of play.

Marcus Thorton is, and always has been, a scorer. He doesn’t provide much else but his ability to get points in quick spurts is something the Timberwolves second unit needs to be aware of.

Mar 2, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins (22) and Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) during a break in play during the second half at Target Center. The Wizards won 104-98. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Three Things to Watch

1. Bounce-back game for Andrew Wiggins. Andrew had a very poor performance in Philadelphia, going 2-for-15 from the field and 0-for-3 from three for only eight points to go along with four turnovers and was pretty much a non-factor in the loss to the 76ers. He’ll need to redeem himself in Washington if the Timberwolves want to improve their chances of winning.

2. Can the Wolves contain John Wall? John Wall is the heartbeat of the Wizards. He’s currently on a surge and currently playing as well as anyone in the East.

Wall dominates the ball and is entrusted to control everything Washington does on the offensive end. He likes to get into the painted area as that’s where he does most of his damage — scoring, dishing out to his shooters or dumping the ball off inside. The Timberwolves will need to slow Wall down in transition, force him out of the paint and make him into a jump shooter to be successful.

3. Who will control the points in the paint. After giving 32 points in the paint in the first half to the 76ers on Tuesday, Minnesota found themselves in a 26-point hole. They were able to claw their way back into the game in large part by holding the Sixers to only eight points in the paint in the second half before ultimately losing.

Washington is currently ranked 10th in the league in scoring in the paint at 44.2 a game and will attempt to exploit the Timberwolves in that area. To reiterate: for the Timberwolves to have a chance in this game, their focus needs to be on getting the Wizards to take contested jump shots rather than get easy point near the basket.

Jan 3, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau talks with center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Game Prediction

If the Timberwolves are able to keep the Wizards out of the paint and win the bench unit battle, then they will have a good chance to win this game. Unfortunately for them, those are the two areas that they have struggled in all season.

Minnesota currently ranks 26th in the league in allowing opponents to score from inside and their issues on the bench has been well-documented. The good news is that the Wizards’ bench is just as bad and a place where the Wolves can take advantage.

I think this will be a fast-paced game and one that will benefit the Wolves, who for the first time this year might actually have more depth than their opponent.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict a 112-109 victory by the Timberwolves for their first win of 2017.