Game Preview: Timberwolves vs. Clippers

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Game Preview: Timberwolves vs. Clippers

Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at 7:00 p.m at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

MATCHUP:

We would normally be talking about how the Timberwolves would be fresh off a win or loss against the visiting Trailblazers on Monday night, but the game was postponed due to ice under the court causing condensation on top of the court. The game was deemed unsafe to play, and will occur at a later date.

The Los Angeles Clippers will enter Target Center with a 38-25 overall record, going 6-4 in their last 10 games played. Los Angeles is finally at full strength, as both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are back in the same lineup after battling injuries this season. In their most recent outing, the Clippers took down the Celtics at home, 116-102.

PROJECTED STARTERS:

Timberwolves:

PG: Ricky Rubio #9

SG: Brandon Rush #4

SF: Andrew Wiggins #22

PF: Gorgui Dieng #5

C: Karl-Anthony Towns #32

Clippers:

PG: Chris Paul #3

SG: J.J. Redick #4

SF: Luc Mbah a Moute #12

PF: Blake Griffin #32

C: DeAndre Jordan #6

INJURY REPORT:

Timberwolves: Nikola Pekovic – out/season (recurring ankle pain), Zach LaVine – out/season – (Torn left ACL), Adreian Payne – questionable (illness)

Clippers: Diamond Stone – out (knee)

LAST MEETING:

The last meeting between these two occurred on Jan.19 in Los Angeles in a game nationally televised by TNT. Karl-Anthony Towns carried Minnesota to a 104-101 win, scoring a game-high 37 points and snagging a team-high 12 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins chimed in with 27 points of his own, adding 4 assists in the winning effort.

The Clippers, sans Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, were led by big man DeAndre Jordan, who went off for 29 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Jordan also added 2 blocks to his impressive stat line.

NOTEWORTHY:

This will be Paul Pierce’s last time visiting Minnesota after announcing he will retire at the end of the season. Pierce, a former Celtic, averages 20.4 points per game in his career against the Wolves, but will not see the floor too much tonight at his current age. While he certainly is not getting the Kobe Bryant farewell tour, “The Truth” is still one of the better players to play the game, nonetheless one of the best trash talkers we have seen in the league.

BROADCAST INFORMATION:

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

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

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

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