Game Preview: Timberwolves at Suns

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Game Preview: Timberwolves at Suns

Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017 at 8 p.m. at Talking Stick Arena in Phoenix, Arizona

MATCHUP:

The Timberwolves are in the midst of one of their more encouraging stretches of games in a long, long while. They’ve won 5 of the last 7, including surprising routings of the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder. Minnesota is slowly but surely crawling to the unmet expectations of the preseason, and the next row of games against the dredges of the NBA presents itself as the most winnable series of the season.

The Suns are 15-29 at this point, only above the tail spinning Lakers in the Western Conference. The Suns, like the Wolves, have one of the youngest rosters in the league this year, and their growing pains have been on full display. They are on an uptick as of late, however, winning back -to-back games against the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets. As of yet, they  have been unable to win three games in a row and already lost to the Wolves twice earlier in the season.

PROJECTED STARTERS:

Timberwolves:

PG: Ricky Rubio #9
SG: Zach LaVine #8
SF: Andrew Wiggins #22
PF: Gorgui Dieng #5
C: Karl-Anthony Towns #32

Suns:

PG: Eric Bledsoe #2
SG: Devin Booker #1
SF: T.J. Warren #12
PF: Marquese Chriss #16
C: Tyson Chandler #4

INJURY REPORT:

Timberwolves: Nikola Pekovic – out/season (recurring ankle pain)

Suns: Dragan Bender – day-to-day (ankle)

LAST MEETING:

The Timberwolves and Suns have faced off 2 times this season. The first game was even-keeled, with the Wolves leading the Suns 29-27 following the end of the first quarter. The Suns exploded out of the second, and led 52-47 going into the locker room. Some welcome fourth quarter heroics from Minnesota, particularly Andrew Wiggins, who scored 7 of the final 11 points, led to a Wolves win 98-85.

The second meeting was more of the same. Minnesota was a force on the glass, dominating Phoenix 41-34 in total rebounds, and Towns and Dieng came up with 4 offfensive boards each, punishing the Suns with second-chance points. P.J. Tucker was a black hole on the offensive end for the Suns. He would finish the night with a putrid offensive rating of 61. The Timberwolves shot .488 from the field as a team, and the young core of Wiggins, Towns, and Lavine ended the night with a combined 77 points. Minnesota won 115-108.

NOTEWORTHY:

The Phoenix Suns have one of the youngest rosters in the NBA and play a style of basketball that reflects it. They’re a team that ranks 3rd in pace, preferring to run wild in the open court over a more controlled, set offense. They’re turnover prone ranking 26th in the NBA with 15.9/game, but the size and length of the endless amount of centers and forwards that make up their bench makes them one of the strongest offensive rebounding teams in the league, aver ageing a monster 12/game. The Suns have had issues with fouling, so as long as the Wolves are able to make their free throws, this should be a pleasant confidence boost for the young team heading into a decent-sized chunk of winnable games.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

TV: Fox Sports North – Dave Benz (play-by-play), Jim Peterson (analyst)

Radio: 830 WCCO-AM – Alan Horton (play-by-play)

(Stats found on nba.com, and basketball-reference.com)