The Wolves are in Philly on Tuesday to take on the Sixers in a matchup that is
getting a lot of attention mostly because of the trade between the two squads
that brought Robert Covington, Dario Saric and Jerryd Bayless to Minnesota and
sent Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton to Philly.
Wolves players and coaches spoke on Butler yesterday, which we covered in our
practice report here. There were more questions about Butler at shootaround but
the Wolves’ answers were very similar today, so let’s focus on the side of the
trade that wasn’t talked about as much…
RoCo And Dario’s Return
This will be the first time Saric, Covington and Bayless will be back in Philly
since the trade. It’s disappointing that Covington won’t be able to take the
court but he is still enjoying the chance to see some familiar faces.
That being said, Covington’s relationship with Philly is complicated. Though he
loves the organization, it wasn’t always the easiest crowd to play in front of.
“If you can make it here you can make it anywhere,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed the
fans both good and bad, embrace it all, overall this is my true first home and
I’ll always love here. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Being part of a rebuilding process like the one he went through in Philly also
taught Covington lessons that he has brought with him to Minnesota.
“Adversity is going to hit no matter what. You got to take the good with the
bad, you got to learn from all your mistakes, you got to learn your lessons and
ultimately each and every day you have to come in and get better,” he said.
“Just trying to be a great leader on and off the court just like I was here.
Lead by example doing the right things and taking guys under your wing.”
Now that Covington and Saric are in Minnesota, Interim Head Coach Ryan Saunders
has a better idea of what Philly misses about them.
“One thing you can never take away from those guys or underestimate in terms of
Robert and Dario is their passion and their will to win. Any team would miss
them taking that away from them,” he said.
Stopping Embiid
In order to have a chance at winning tonight, the Wolves need to slow down Joel
Embiid. While that job will primarily fall on Karl-Anthony Towns, Saunders said
that it’s important for the whole team to step up and work together to contain
him.
“It is a challenge. There’s a lot of bigs in this league that can score the ball
on the block and score from the outside too. That’s where Embiid poses a
challenge, he’s so dynamic with things. But the main thing is playing without
fouling and keeping engaged,” said Saunders.
Towns has been on a roll lately so there’s little doubt he’ll be able to go
toe-to-toe with Embiid. Both teams’ No. 1 priority will be stopping the other’s
center, so it’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
You can catch Wolves at Sixers at 6 p.m. CT. Read more about the matchup and
find out how to watch here.
Player: Robert Covington
Player: Dario Saric
Media Content:
https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/shootaround-report-former-sixers-return-tea
ming-embiid
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Minnesota Timberwolves, Robert Covington, Dario
Saric, Minnesota Timberwolves
Media Thumbnail:
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Taxonomy: Shootaround Report
Story Link:
https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/shootaround-report-former-sixers-return-tea
ming-embiid
