7:30 p.m., Spring Center, Kansas City, MO
Where to Watch: No TV
Where to Listen: No Radio
After two weeks of training camp practice, finally, we’re here.
Preseason basketball.
This is the first of seven preseason games for the Wolves and the first of two against the Miami Heat.
We’ll probably get a look of what new head coach Tom Thibodeau wants his rotation and starters to look like throughout preseason, but a lot of that probably won’t come until we get a bit closer to the season.
A few observations heading into Saturday night’s game:
- It will be weird to go up against a Miami Heat squad without Dwyane Wade on it. Wade, of course, signed with the Bulls this offseason.
- It will be the first NBA game for Timberwolves rookie Kris Dunn. He’ll likely back up Ricky Rubio and play with the second unit.
- This game is technically listed as a “home” game for the Heat.
Coming Off Of…
This is Minnesota’s first preseason game of the 2016-17 season.
The Heat beat the Wizards in their first preseason game, 106-95, on Tuesday. Center Hassan Whiteside led the way, finishing with 20 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Luke Babbitt added 14 points, 12 coming from the 3-point line. Justise Winslow and Dion Waiters scored 12 points each.
Last Matchup:
The Wolves were 1-1 against the Heat last season.
The two teams last played on Nov. 17 and the Wolves came away with a 103-91 win in Miami thanks to 24 points from Andrew Wiggins. Zach LaVine led the second unit with 17 points, while Shabazz Muhammad pitched in with 16. Karl-Anthony Towns played just 26 minutes, but finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Miami lost despite having all five starters score 10 or more points. Wade and Chris Bosh, however, had just 10 points each.
Whiteside had a triple-double, finishing with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 10 (!) blocks. Goran Dragic added 16 points and nine assists. Luol Deng, now with the Lakers, finished with 20 points and six rebounds.
Key Matchup: Karl-Anthony Towns vs. Hassan Whiteside
Of course we really have no idea how many minutes these two will be playing considering it’s a preseason game, but let’s just pretend it’s a regular season game, shall we?
Towns wasn’t just the league’s best rookie last season, he was one of the NBA’s best players. He finished averaging 18.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 blocks per game last season.
In two games against Miami, he averaged 10 points and nine rebounds. It’s worth noting both of those games came in the first month of the season.
Whiteside is the new headline name for the Heat after losing Wade and the uncertainty regarding Bosh. In his second season with the team, he averaged 14.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and a league-leading 3.7 blocks per game.
In two games against Minnesota, he averaged 17 points, 11.5 rebounds and seven blocks per game.
Injuries:
Miami: Bosh (blood clot) is out.
Minnesota: Center Nikola Pekovic (ankle) is out.
Projected Starters:
Miami: PG- Dragic, SG – Johnson, SF – Babbitt, PF – Winslow, C – Whiteside
Minnesota: PG- Rubio, SG- LaVine, SF- Wiggins, PF- Dieng, C- Towns