6:00 p.m., Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
Where to Watch: No TV
Where to Listen: 830 WCCO Radio
The Wolves will play their second preseason game in three days on Monday night against the Charlotte Hornets.
The Wolves are 1-0 after beating Miami on Saturday, while the Hornets are 0-3, searching for their first preseason win.
A few observations going into Monday night’s game:
- Keep an eye on the playing time of stretch forward Nemanja Bjelica. Coach Tom Thibodeau has had nothing but good things to say about him through training camp.
- Roy Hibbert is now a member of the Hornets. We’ll see if he can get back the mojo he had in Indianapolis.
- This is the first of two preseason games the Wolves will play against the Hornets. The second is on Oct. 21 at the Target Center.
Coming Off Of…
The Wolves are coming off of a 109-100 road win over the Miami Heat on Saturday.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Third-year wing Andrew Wiggins added 19 points, 13 coming from the free-throw line. The bench was big. Shabazz Muhammad finished with 14 points, Bjelica had 12 and Brandon Rush added 11.
The Hornets are coming off of a 104-86 loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday.
Christian Wood led Charlotte with 13 points off the bench. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 11 points, while second-year big man Frank Kaminsky added 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Last Matchup:
The Wolves were 0-2 against the Hornets last season. The last game came on March 7 in Charlotte. The Hornets won 108-103 thanks to 34 points from Kemba Walker. Former Wolves big man Al Jefferson added 20 points off the bench. Marvin Williams and Nicolas Batum scored 15 and 11 points, respectively.
Towns led the Wolves with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Wiggins added 25. Zach LaVine scored 19 points, but shot just 2-for-8 from the 3-point line. Ricky Rubio had a nice all-around game, finishing with 10 points, 10 assists and five rebounds. Gorgui Dieng added 12 points, nine rebounds and four steals.
Key Matchup: Andrew Wiggins vs. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Wiggins will be challenged as Kidd-Gilchrist is one of the league’s best perimeter defenders – something Wiggins hopes to be one day.
Minnesota’s wing averaged 20.7 points per game last season, but just 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists. Those are things he’ll look to improve on.
Kidd-Gilchrist played in just seven games last season due to a shoulder injury. That makes this preseason that much more important for him.
Injuries:
Charlotte: No injuries to report.
Minnesota: Center Nikola Pekovic (ankle) is out.
Projected Starters:
Charlotte: PG- Walker, SG – Lamb, SF - Kidd-Gilchrist, PF – Kaminsky, C – Hibbert
Minnesota: PG- Rubio, SG- LaVine, SF- Wiggins, PF- Dieng, C- Towns