Timberwolves at Spurs, 7:30 p.m.AT&T CenterFox Sports North Plus, NBA TV, 830
WCCO
Why you should watch:
The Western Conference playoff race is hot right now and these two teams are
right in the thick of it.
The Wolves sit in fifth in the West with a 40-29 record while the Spurs are
39-30, eighth and just a game back from the Wolves. There’s not much separating
a team hosting a first-round playoff matchup to a team missing the playoffs
entirely, which is scary and awesome at the same time.
Minnesota is riding a two-game winning streak against the Warriors and Wizards,
respectively.
Karl-Anthony Towns was an absolute stud in those games, averaging 34 points, 13
rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 63.4 percent from the field,
62.5 percent from the 3-point line and 84.6 percent from the free-throw line.
San Antonio had lost nine of 11 games before beating the Magic and Pelicans this
week.
Both teams are without their All-Star two-way players in Jimmy Butler and Kawhi
Leonard.
Things don’t get any easier for the Wolves. They head straight home after the
game to host the first-place Rockets on Sunday evening.
Opposing player I’ll be watching:
LaMarcus Aldridge is having his best season during his Spurs career, averaging
22.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while shooting 49.8 percent from the
field.
After his first two seasons of struggling to fit in, Aldridge is San Antonio’s
go-to-guy with Leonard out.
If Aldridge and the Spurs miss out on the playoffs, it’d be the first time since
2012-13 for him and 1996-97 for the Spurs.
There’s a lot riding on every game.
Injuries:
Spurs: Leonard (quad) is out. Dejounte Murray (ankle) is questionable. Danny
Green (facial) is probable.
Wolves: Butler (knee) is out
Starting Lineups:
Spurs: PG – Murray, SG – Mills, SF – Green, PF – Anderson, C – Aldridge
Wolves: PG – Teague, SG – Wiggins, SF – Bjelica, PF – Gibson, C – Towns
Player: Nemanja Bjelica
Player: Jimmy Butler
Player: Taj Gibson
Player: Jeff Teague
Player: Karl-Anthony Towns
Player: Andrew Wiggins
Player: LaMarcus Aldridge
Player: Kyle Anderson
Player: Danny Green
Player: Kawhi Leonard
Player: Patty Mills
Player: Dejounte Murray
Media Content: http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/scouting-report-wolves-spurs-3
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Minnesota Timberwolves, Nemanja Bjelica, Jimmy
Butler, Taj Gibson, Jeff Teague, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, LaMarcus
Aldridge, Kyle Anderson, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Patty Mills, Dejounte
Murray, Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs
Media Thumbnail:
http://i.cdn.turner.com/drp/nba/timberwolves/sites/default/files/sr-3-17-2018.jpg
Taxonomy: Scouting Report
Story Link: http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/scouting-report-wolves-spurs-3
