On Thursday night, the Portland Trail Blazers will face the best the Minnesota Timberwolves team they’ve seen in a long time.
After starting a franchise-best 11-3, the Wolves now find themselves at the top of a Western Conference that also includes the title-defending Denver Nuggets and the scary if inconsistent LA Clippers, not to mention the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder and the “wouldn’t be surprised if they won the title” Phoenix Suns. Minnesota’s 38-16 record (.703) is also nearly decimal-perfectly aligned to their best full season in team history at 58-24 (.707).
Given that, and that the Blazers just lost to these very same Wolves the other day, winning the game might be a bit of a stretch. That doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to feel good about, though, and topping that list might be the recent play of Blazers center Deandre Ayton.
Is it a coincidence that Ayton has been averaging 19.2 points, 11.4 boards, 2 dimes and a block on 64% shooting since making comments (and being criticized for making them) nine games ago about having “nothing to prove” since he’s a max player? Maybe. Or maybe the backlash from those comments was enough for him to do some self-reflection and begin to see his role differently. In a recent story by Trail Blazers reporter Casey Holdahl, Ayton mentioned “knowing that I have to show up on every possession” and “I’ve been trying to humble myself a little bit.”
If staying humble is what turned Ayton from a nightly question mark into an effective second or third scoring option on a night-to-night basis, then more power to him. And without being too much of a downer, that perspective will definitely continue to serve him well on a team that probably won’t be competing for the postseason anytime soon.
Portland Trail Blazers (15-38) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (38-16) - Thu. Feb. 15 - 7:00pm Pacific
How to watch on TV: Root Sports, NBA League Pass
Trail Blazers injuries: Scoot Henderson (probable); Malcolm Brogdon, Shaedon Sharpe, Robert Williams III, Moses Brown, Rayan Rupert (out)
Timberwolves injuries: Anthony Edwards, Wendell Moore (questionable); Jaylen Clark (out).
Wolves SBN affiliate: Canis Hoopus
About the Opponent:
Jack Borman of Canis Hoopus, in his preview for tonight’s game, talks about how the Wolves need to use their size and limit Portland’s perimeter explosiveness:
Preventing Henderson from wreaking havoc off the dribble as a playmaker and scorer at the rim or free throw line (where he is shooting 97.1% on 5.7 attempts over his last eight games) while also limiting Simons’ quick strike ability from all over the floor should be one of, if not the Wolves’ top priority defensively... A renewed focus to post Towns up on Grant, run pick-and-roll to force Ayton to defend in space and on the roll against Gobert, and setting stagger screens up for Edwards against either Toumani Camara or Matisse Thybulle to give Ant a runway into the paint once again should all combine to produce a 60+ point night in the paint on Thursday.
Nolan O’Hara of Bring Me the Sports has a short piece about how Minnesota big man Rudy Gobert insisted that the Timberwolves have their bench on the offensive side of the floor for the second half of games... and it’s been working.
Gobert wanted the Timberwolves bench to be on the same side as their offense during the second half for away games; the opposing team gets to choose which side of the court they want their bench to be on before the game... “Last year I was already thinking about it, but this year I was looking back at the games and some of the games when we blew leads in the fourth, too, and I realized most of those games like the offense was on the other side,” Gobert told reporters after Tuesday’s game, “and I realized that when we attack on our side, it’s kinda like, the energy of the bench, especially when you’re on the road and it’s the second half, I feel like we’re a team that really feeds off that.
Sitting atop the Western Conference, do you think the Timberwolves are a legit contender? Criss Partee of Deadspin definitely doesn’t, as he expands upon in this piece:
Teams get Gobert out on the perimeter, run that pick-n-roll, and put his ass on ice skates. He’s completely ineffective at that point and rendered a non-factor. Since he’s not a big scoring threat, once that happens it’s hard to keep him on the court too long. Based on current play-in standings, Minnesota would face either the Mavs, Kings, Lakers or Warriors in the first round. Golden State and LA have both struggled this season, but it isn’t inconceivable to say either one of those teams could “sneak up” and put the boots to Minnesota in the first round.