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Game Preview: Timberwolves vs. Wizards
Friday, Jan. 6th, 2017 at 6 p.m. at Verizon Center in Washington D.C.
Matchup
The Minnesota Timberwolves face off against the Washington Wizards in their first meeting of the season. The Wolves are entering tonight’s game following a crushing last second loss to the Philadelphia 76ers 91-93. The defeat marks the Wolves’ 24th of the season. Washington is facing the Wolves following a two game skid against the Rockets and Mavericks. As the NBA closes in on the halfway point of the season the Wizards sit comfortably as one of the most middling teams in the NBA, ranked 15th in offensive rating, pts/game and SRS. The Wizards are streaky at best, and could present Minnesota with a good chance to get on track as they enter a four game stint in Minneapolis.
Projected Starters
Timberwolves
PG: Ricky Rubio #9
SG: Zach Lavine #8
SF: Andrew Wiggins #22
PF: Gorgui Dieng #5
C: Karl-Anthony Towns #32
Wizards
PG: John Wall #2
SG: Bradley Beal #3
SF: Otto Porter #22
PF: Markieff Morris #5
C: Marcin Gortat #13
Injury Report
Timberwolves: Nikola Pekovic – out/season (recurring ankle pain)
Wizards:
Last Meeting
The Wizards and Wolves split their two-game series the previous season. Minnesota exploded out of the gate during the opening quarter of the first game, surging to a 32-29 lead as time waned down in the quarter, but then the starters rested during the burgeoning moments of the second and the black hole that has been the Timberwolves bench for the previous few seasons reared its ugly head. Tyus Jones, Greg Smith and Adreian Payne all finished the game in negative double digits in the plus/minus column despite playing less than ten minutes in the game. It was over in a flash. The Wizards starters played sloppy, ugly and sluggish. John Wall led the group with a +/- of zero, but their bench picked up the slack against a Wolves starting five who performed surprisingly well considering the end result, but alas, Wolves lose 104-98.
The second meeting in mid-March would prove to be one of the more exciting games during the 15-16 season. The Wolves won a double-OT barn-burner behind monster games from Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach Lavine. The Minnesota guard began showing off the shooting touch he’d develop in full force over the course of the current season, dropping 5-9 from beyond the arc and finishing the game with 25 points. Bradley Beal was a turnstile on defense and finished the night with a game worst -12 despite scoring 26 points on the offensive end. Minnesota wins 132-128.
Noteworthy
The Wizards are one of the poorer teams inside, ranking 27th in total rebounds while allowing opponents to pull 42 down a game. Washington has struggled to defend on the perimeter, forcing Gortat, a very fine defensive anchor in the paint, to help defend and leave the basket vulnerable. Towns and Dieng should feast from under the basket, and may find ample opportunity for second chance points, with Washington allowing the 7th most offensive rebounds per game this season.
Nearly all of the Wizards energy seems to be spent on the offensive side of the ball this season, and the game may come down to a war of attrition considering both team’s struggles on defense. Washington is one of the more tentative teams from beyond the arc, settling for the second worst attempts and makes on the season. Much of the offensive work is done in wild drives to the basket or contested long twos. The Timberwolves are primed to win a game against a team built like this, and a win tonight would be the quickest fix for the psychic agony the pathetic showing in Philadelphia wrecked on the team, organization, and fanbase on Tuesday night. We can only hope.
Broadcast Information
TV: Fox Sports North – Dave Benz (play-by-play), Jim Peterson (analyst)
Radio: 830 WCCO-AM – Alan Horton (play-by-play)
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