Wolves vs. Raptors | 6:30 p.m.
Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
Where To Watch: League Pass
Where to Listen: No Radio
This marks the second game for the Timberwolves as part of the NBA’s 2015 Canada Series.
For Minnesota, these preseason games aren’t necessarily important for wins, but it’s about getting a team with new faces familiar with each other. It’s also an opportunity for interim head coach Sam Mitchell to figure out what his rotation will look like. Earlier in camp, he said that he’d like to have a 10-man rotation if possible.
A few other observations:
- This marks Mitchell’s return to Toronto. He was the head coach of the Raptors from 2005-2009 and won the Coach of the Year in 2006-07.
- It also marks the return to Toronto for Andrew and Nick Wiggins. The brothers were born in Toronto.
- This game is available on League Pass, but won’t be televised on a major television network.
LAST TIME THEY PLAYED
The Wolves were 0-2 against the Raptors last season.
The last game came on April 1 at the Target Center. The Wolves fell 113-99 despite 25 points, five assists and five rebounds from Wiggins. Zach LaVine added 22 points, while Justin Hamilton had 13.
Chase Budinger was solid off the bench, finishing with 19 points and six rebounds.
Seven Raptors finished in double-digits, led by Lou Williams’ 18 off the bench. DeMar DeRozan put up 17, while Terrence Ross had 16. Bigs Jonas Valanciunas and James Johnson finished with 28 combined points, while Greivis Vasquez put up 14.
THEY ARE COMING OFF OF…
The Wolves are coming off of a 114-105 loss in Winnipeg to the Chicago Bulls.
Rookie point guard Tyus Jones didn’t get the start, but he was solid off the bench, scoring 18 points to go with game-high nine assists. He shot 5-for-9 from the field, 3-for-3 from the 3-point line and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. Fellow rookie Karl-Anthony Towns was solid as well, finishing with the game’s only double-double (13 points and 10 rebounds). Fellow big man Gorgui Dieng added 13 points as well. Nemanja Bjelica continued his hot play, scoring 11 points off the bench to go with nine rebounds. Shabazz Muhammad played well after struggling on Wednesday, scoring 12 off the bench.
Minnesota shot 52.4 percent from the 3-point line.
Toronto is coming off of a 105-97 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. The game was listed as a road game, but was played in Ontario.
The slimmed down Kyle Lowry led the way for Toronto, scoring 25 points to go with six rebounds. He was 4-for-6 from the 3-point line.
New free agents Cory Joseph and DeMarre Carroll scored 18 points each, shooting a combined 14-for-23. Center Jonas Valanciunas scored 10 points in 23 minutes and 38 seconds. Former Wolves forward Anthony Bennett finished with four points and three rebounds in seven minutes off the bench.
KEY MATCHUP: DEMAR DEROZAN VS. ZACH LAVINE
It’s been no secret that LaVine has struggled since being named the starting shooting guard for the Wolves. He’s averaged just 5.5 points and has shot just 3-for-19 from the field.
Mitchell said that LaVine has been playing tentative, something he didn’t do last season. There’s still time to turn this around before the regular season, but fans would feel more comfortable if he did so sooner rather than later.
In two games against Toronto last season, LaVine averaged 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and two assists per game.
DeRozan is coming off of a season in which he scored 20.1 points per game, but he shot just 41.3 percent from the field. He’s Toronto’s best scorer, but he’ll have to be more efficient in 2015-16.
In three preseason games, he’s averaging 10.3 points per game. In two games against Minnesota last season, he averaged 19 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
INJURY REPORT
Raptors: James Johnson (Achilles) and Ross (ankle) are questionable. Landry Fields (hip) is out.
Wolves: Nikola Pekovic (Achilles) and Ricky Rubio (quad) are out.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Raptors: PG – Lowry, SG – DeRozan, SF – Carroll, PF – Patterson, C- Valanciunas
Wolves: PG – Brown, SG – LaVine, SF – Wiggins, PF – Garnett, C - Towns