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Timberwolves host the Hornets
Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016 at 7 p.m. at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
MATCHUP:
Coming off an impressive 125-99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday night, the Wolves will look to add another victory to their current 3-6 record, as they are currently the 11th seed in the Western Conference.
The Hornets, currently the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference standings, are coming off a 100-93 loss to the defending champ Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night. Guard Kemba Walker is playing like an all-star early in the season, averaging 25.3 points, and 5.7 assists per game, as the Hornets boast a healthy 6-3 record.
It will be interesting to see if guard Ricky Rubio can slow down the stellar play of Walker, as Rubio is almost averaging 2 steals per game while guarding the opposition’s best ball-handler most nights.
PROJECTED STARTERS:
Timberwolves:
PG: Ricky Rubio #9
SG: Zach LaVine #8
SF: Andrew Wiggins #22
PF: Gorgui Dieng #5
C: Karl-Anthony Towns #32
Hornets:
PG: Kemba Walker #15
SG: Nicolas Batum #5
SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist #14
PF: Marvin Williams #2
C: Cody Zeller #40
INJURY REPORT:
Timberwolves: Nikola Pekovic – out/season (recurring ankle pain), Zach LaVine – questionable (sore knee), Shabazz Muhammad – questionable (sore knee), Brandon Rush -questionable (toe)
Hornets: Jeremy Lamb – out (hamstring)
LAST MEETING:
This will be the first regular season meeting between the two teams, however, they did play twice in the preseason, with both squads taking home a win each.
In the first preseason meeting on Oct. 10, the Hornets were victorious 98-86 despite a 30-point outing from Zach LaVine. Frank Kaminksy, who has struggled so far this season, had a team-high 17 points for the Hornets in the win at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
The second meeting, which took place at Target Center on Oct. 21, saw the Wolves secure a lopsided 109-74 win. Shabazz Muhammad was the high point man in the game with 17 points. Marco Belinelli led the way for Charlotte with 10 points. Cole Aldrich hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds for the Wolves.
NOTEWORTHY:
Andrew Wiggins has found his scoring groove as of late, most recently dropping 47 points on the Lakers Sunday night. Wiggins has been shooting a blazing 54.8% beyond the arc, while also boasting a solid 47.9% field goal percentage on top of averaging 26.3 points per game. Will the Hornets defense be able to slow down the 21-year old?
Zach LaVine and Shabazz Muhammad missed Sunday’s game versus the Lakers, as both were dealing with sore knees. As of now, they arequestionable, a situation worth monitoring up until tip-off.
Brandon Rush also missed Sunday with a lingering toe issue, determining after a pre-game shoot around he wasn’t ready to return to action yet. His status remains questionable
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
TV: Fox Sports North – Dave Benz (play-by-play), Jim Peterson (analyst)
Radio: 830 WCCO-AM – Alan Horton (play-by-play)
(Stats courtesy of nba.com, basketball-reference.com, and numberfire.com)
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