Timberwolves

11/22 PREVIEW: Timberwolves, Finally Home, Look For Bounce-Back Win Over Magic

(photo credit: Jim Faklis)

Finally, the Timberwolves are home.

After a 17-game start to the season where the Wolves would only play at home on back-to-back occasions once, a badly-needed four-game homestand starts Wednesday night against the 8-9 Orlando Magic.

To put this neverending road trip into context, Timberwolves play-by-play announcer Dave Benz tweeted out this graphic.

Technically, the percentage will go up to 94.4 percent after Wednesday’s game, as well.

But now, the Wolves will spend 10 of the next 14 games at the Target Center. It couldn’t come at a better time, either.

After a 3-game winning streak put them at 10-5 and seemingly in the driver’s seat for upcoming success, a pair of losses to Detroit and Charlotte, respectively, on back-to-back nights, brought them back down to earth.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau said during Wednesday morning shootaround. “Our schedule was a challenge early on, but now is an opportunity for us to come home, take it day by day, and get ready to go.”

The Magic present a unique first test for Thibodeau’s club. Currently, they define the term “middle of the road”, when compared to the rest of the league. As it stands, their 8-9 record is good for the No. 10 spot in the East, and is the seventeenth best record in the NBA. They match that mediocrity with the No. 15 offensive rating and the No. 16 defensive rating in the league, and (naturally) sit with a net rating right in that ballpark as well.

Still, all these numbers are on a downward trajectory. Some of their worst basketball has come in the last two weeks, including a 40-point loss to the Utah Jazz on Nov. 18.

But even so, the past couple weeks have been all the evidence the Wolves require to know they can’t take a night off. And while Orlando has lost five in a row, they still notched early-season wins against Cleveland, Miami, and San Antonio already.

The Magic will be hungry for their first win in nearly two weeks, but so will the Wolves.

“We don’t want to lose one, let along two in a row,” Jimmy Butler said. “We damn sure don’t want to lose three in a row.”

A few final pre-game notes:

– Anthony Brown was recalled from Iowa, and practiced with the team Wednesday. It’s unclear how long he’ll be back up with the big club for, but Thibodeau said he wanted to see what he’s looked like while the Wolves are on a small break. Thibodeau also mentioned the importance of what adding a body can do for the regulars during practice. Brown is still listed as inactive for Wednesday’s game.

– For those that were worried about Butler’s scoring woes, he seems to be coming along in that regard. He’s hit 20-plus points in four of the last six games, and his shooting percentages during that span are up as well. He still hasn’t fully found himself since joining the Wolves, but it seems like that process is getting there.

-Speaking of scoring, it’s been a good week for Jamal Crawford. The streaky sixth man has scored in double figures in two of his last three games, including a season-high on Monday against the Hornets. Prior to this set of scoring affairs, he hadn’t hit double-digits since Nov. 5.

– Cool little nugget from the Timberwolves today: “Karl-Anthony Towns is donating $10,000 to House of Charity Food Centre to provide support for their Free Public Meals. He will also spend time on Thanksgiving serving meals to those experiencing homelessness, alongside his family and Timberwolves CEO Ethan Casson.”


Listen to Tim on Wolves Wired!

Timberwolves
Jordan McLaughlin’s Adaptability Remains Invaluable For the Wolves
By Jonah Maves - Mar 28, 2024
Timberwolves
Draymond Green’s Antics Are Beneath the Wolves
By Andrew Dukowitz - Mar 27, 2024
Timberwolves

The Wolves Unlocked Something By Starting Naz Reid

(photo credit: Jim Faklis)

Naz Reid. Those two words were the only thing you could see or hear inside Target Center on Friday after in-arena host Jon Berry instructed the sold-out […]

Continue Reading