The Wolves come out of the All-Star break having played 61 games, the most of
any team in the NBA.
In the final month and a half of the season, the Wolves have a unique schedule.
“It’s 21 games in 47 days,” Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said after Thursday’s
practice. “And there’s some unusual breaks, too, in terms of we have a five-day
break, we have two three-day breaks, we have four two-day breaks. For our
players, most NBA players, like to play every other day. . . Whatever comes our
way, we’ll have to deal with it.”
Minnesota sits at 36-25, fourth in the West, just percentage points away from
the Spurs and the three seed. With Kawhi Leonard likely out for the season,
there’s a huge opportunity in front of the Wolves.
The Wolves have had their ups and downs throughout the season, but if you had
told them they’d be the four seed in the West after 61 games, there wouldn’t
have been any complaining.
“So far, so good,” All-Star Jimmy Butler said. “We have a winning record, so you
gotta be happy about that. We’ve had a couple lapses, unhappy about that. But
all and all, we get to wake up and play basketball every day with a good group
of guys for a good organization, so I’m happy.”
Upcoming games for the Wolves over the next week are against the Rockets (road),
Bulls (home), Kings (road) and Blazers (road). That’s two playoff teams and two
non-playoff teams. If the Wolves want to hold onto that four spot, and
potentially move up to the three seed, they’ll need to execute late in games and
win those 50/50 games.
“I think just to be more consistent,” Jamal Crawford said. “Obviously toward the
end of the season, you want to play your basketball . . . Every game means a
little bit more.”
Towns Enjoys All-Star Weekend
Wolves center Karl-Anthony Towns appeared in his first All-Star game over the
weekend and finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for Team Stephen.
“It was a lot of fun,” Towns said. “It was a great experience. To have a chance
to be on that stage on Sunday was a great honor.”
Towns and the Wolves will have their first game post All-Star break on Friday
night against the Rockets in Houston. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on Fox Sports
North, ESPN and 830 WCCO.
Player: Jimmy Butler
Player: Jamal Crawford
Player: Karl-Anthony Towns
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