The Wolves are facing their first back-to-back of the 2015-16 season on Tuesday as they take on the Charlotte Hornets.
As of Monday at 5 p.m., the Wolves sit at 3-2, good for fifth in the Western Conference. Minnesota plays the Hawks in Atlanta on Monday night.
Charlotte is 2-4 so far, sitting in 13th place in the East.
A few tidbits going into Tuesday night’s game:
Former Wolves center Al Jefferson is slowly declining. He’s averaging 15.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, his lowest totals since 2005-06.
The Hornets passed on Justise Winslow to draft Frank Kaminsky with the ninth overall pick in the 2015 draft. Kaminsky is playing just 10 minutes per game. Too early to call it a mistake, but Winslow has looked awfully good for Miami.
How many minutes will the Wolves see from Tayshaun Prince and Kevin Garnett? We’ll see. It wouldn’t be a surprise if head coach Sam Mitchell decided to rest one of the two.
The Wolves play on Monday night at Atlanta. This section will be updated accordingly.
The Hornets last played on Saturday against the Spurs in San Antonio. Charlotte lost 114-94 despite 27 points from guard Kemba Walker. Jefferson added 13 points, while Jeremy Lin led the second unit with 12. Nic Batum finished with 10 points. The Hornets were outrebounded 42 to 33.
The Wolves were 0-2 against the Hornets last season. The last game came on March 22 at the Target Center. Charlotte won 109-98 behind 24 points from former Wolves point guard Mo Williams. Jefferson added 18 points and 11 rebounds. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist also scored 18 points. Gerald Henderson and Walker scored 18 and 17 points, respectively. Charlotte shot a blistering 50.6 percent from the field.
Minnesota had seven players score 10 or more points, but nobody scored more than 16 points. Those 16 points belonged to Gorgui Dieng. Kevin Martin added 15 points and nine assists. Adreian Payne and Andrew Wiggins finished with 13 points each. Gary Neal and Zach LaVine both scored 11, while Chase Budinger added 10. Minnesota was hot as well, shooting 55.4 percent, but the Wolves just weren’t able to stop the Hornets’ offense.
These two are very different point guard. Rubio is a pass-first point guard, while Walker is more of a scorer. With that being said, both are very important pieces for the success of their teams.
Through six games, Walker is averaging 17.2 points and 5.3 assists per game. Most importantly, he’s shooting 44.9 percent from the field, up from his career average of 39.6 percent.
Walker finished with 16 points, eight assists and three rebounds in one game against the Wolves last season.
Not including Monday night’s game, Rubio is averaging 13.6 points (career-high), 9.2 assists, five rebounds and 2.2 steals per game. He’s doing it all for this Minnesota team. He’s also shooting a career-best 39.2 percent from the field.
Rubio did not play in either game against the Hornets last season.
Hornets: Kidd-Gilchrist (shoulder) is out.
Wolves: Pekovic (Achilles) is out.
Hornets: PG- Walker, SG – Batum, SF – Hairston, PF – Williams, C – Jefferson
Wolves: PG- Rubio, SG- Wiggins, SF- Prince, PF- Garnett, C- Towns
