Thursday, Moda Center Wolves at Blazers, 9:30 p.m.TNT, 830 WCCO
Why you should watch:
Let the games in the Western Conference begin.
The Wolves go into the game with a 38-26 record, third in the West, 1.5 games up
on the No. 5 seed Blazers.
There’s not a whole lot of breathing room in the West. The difference from the
three-seed to ninth place is just 3.5 games.
This is about as meaningful as a game in early March gets.
Minnesota has a 2-1 season-series lead over Portland this season. This would
give the Wolves the tiebreaker.
The Wolves have won three of their last four games (two without All-Star Jimmy
Butler) and the Blazers have won four straight and six of seven.
Opposing player I’ll be watching:
He doesn’t get the recognition that he should, but Damian Lillard is one of the
elite point guards in the NBA. He’s averaging 26.3 points, 6.6 assists and 4.5
rebounds per game while shooting a career-high 44.9 percent from the field and
36.9 percent from the 3-point line.
In his last six games, he’s averaging 37.2 points while shooting 52.1 percent
from the field and 39.7 percent from the 3-point line.
It’ll be up to Jeff Teague and Co. to slow Lillard down.
In three games against the Wolves this season, Lillard is averaging 23 points,
nine assists and six rebounds per game.
Injuries:
Blazers: No injuries to report.
Wolves: Butler (knee) is out.
Starting Lineups:
Blazers: PG – Lillard, SG – McCollum, SF – Harkless, PF – Aminu, C – Nurkic
Wolves: PG – Teague, SG – Wiggins, SF – Bjelica, PF – Gibson, C – Towns
Media Content: http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/scouting-report-wolves-blazers-1
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Timberwolves,
Portland Trail Blazers
Media Thumbnail:
http://i.cdn.turner.com/drp/nba/timberwolves/sites/default/files/sr-2-28-2018.jpg
Taxonomy: Scouting Report
Story Link: http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/scouting-report-wolves-blazers-1
