Scouting Report

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The Timberwolves kick off a six-game road trip on Tuesday night in Houston against the Rockets.

This is the final matchup between the two teams with the Wolves still looking for their first win against James Harden’s club.

The Wolves go into the game with a 19-44 record, 14th in the West.

The Rockets are desperately looking for a win having lost four-straight games, most recently on Sunday night against the Magic at home.

Houston is 39-24 on the season, sixth for West. The playoff positioning battle in the West will certainly be interesting. The Rockets are just four games out from the second seed in the West, but only one game up from seventh. 

What: Wolves at RocketsWhen: Tuesday, 7 p.m., Mar. 10Where: Toyota CenterWatch: Fox Sports North Listen: 830 WCCO

Timberwolves shooting guard Malik Beasley has been red hot in his time with the team, averaging 21.9 points per game while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 43.6 percent from the 3-point line.

Beasley has scored 20 or more points in four-straight games and in nine out of 13 games with Minnesota. In fact, nine of his 10 20-point scoring games this season have come in his short time with the Wolves. This is Beasley’s fourth game against the Rockets this season and he’s averaging 10.7 points per game against them. I would imagine we’ll see him score north of that on Tuesday night.

This is the first matchup for the Wolves against old friend Robert Covington since the team dealt him at the trade deadline. Covington has been fantastic in his time with Houston, averaging 13 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.5 (!) blocks per game while shooting 36.1 percent from the 3-point line.

Covington still has tons of respect in the Timberwolves’ organization even though he was only with the team for about a season. I’m sure there will be plenty of hugs going around for Covington, even though there aren’t many players who were with Covington in Minnesota prior to the deadline.

Wolves: Karl-Anthony Towns (wrist) is out. Kelan Martin (ankle) is questionable.

Rockets: Eric Gordon (knee) is questionable.

Wolves: PG—Russell, SG—Beasley, SF—Okogie, PF—Hernangomez, C—Reid

Rockets: PG—Harden, SG – Westbrook, SF – House, PF – Tucker, C – Covington  

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Scouting Report | Wolves vs. Rockets

The Timberwolves get the opportunity to see rookie phenom Zion Williamson twice in a week.

Minnesota beat Williamson’s Pelicans last Tuesday in New Orleans. This one will be in Minneapolis at Target Center.

The Wolves go into the game with a 19-43 record, 14th in the West. The Pelicans are 28-36, 10th in the West.

This is the Timberwolves’ last home game before a six-game road trip. They’ll be back home on Sunday, Mar. 22 when they host Damian Lillard and the Blazers. 

What: Wolves vs. PelicansWhen: 2:30 p.m. CT, SundayWhere: Target CenterWatch: Fox Sports North Listen: 830 WCCOTickets

Veteran forward James Johnson has been so important for the Timberwolves in his short time with the franchise. Johnson is averaging 11.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. 

If not for Johnson on the second unit, it’s hard to imagine who would be doing all that Johnson is doing. 

It’s been well-documented that Johnson has been critical for this team off the court. He’s proving the same on the court.

Last Tuesday against the Wolves, Williamson finished with 25 points and eight rebounds while shooting 10-for-19 from the field. In two games since, Williamson finished with 21 points and six rebounds against the Mavericks and 17 points and six rebounds against the Heat, respectively.

Coach Ryan Saunders will likely throw Johnson and Naz Reid at Williamson in hopes to slow him down. At 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds in 29.6 minutes per game, that’s something not many teams have been able to do. 

Wolves: Karl-Anthony Towns (wrist) and Kelan Martin (ankle) are out.

Pelicans: J.J. Redick (hamstring) and Darius Miller (Achilles) are out. Kenrich Williams (back) is questionable. 

Pelicans: PF—Holiday, SG – Ball, SF – Ingram, PF – Williamson, C – Favors 

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Scouting Report | Wolves vs. Pelicans

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The Wolves are on a two-game winning streak for the first time since Jan. 5, and this current streak is even more enjoyable because the Wolves beat the Pelicans and Bulls on back-to-back nights without a single day of rest.

The Wolves’ Wednesday night win improved their record to 19-42 on the season, which keeps them in 14th place in the Western Conference standings.

Their next challenge comes on Friday when they host the Orlando Magic for the second time in a week. The Wolves dropped a 136-125 to the Magic at Amway Center on Feb. 28 after being out-rebounded 54-33 and allowing Terrence Ross to score 33 points off the bench.

The Magic have lost three games in a row since defeating the Wolves on Feb. 28 and currently hold a 27-35 record, good for eighth in the East. Orlando still holds a 4.5 game lead over the Washington Wizards in the race to the playoffs, but they’ll be eager to return to the win column on Friday when they face the Wolves for the final time this season.

What: Wolves vs. MagicWhen: 7 p.m. CT, Friday, March 6Where: Target CenterWatch: Fox Sports North Listen: 830 WCCOTickets

The Wolves’ Feb. 28 rebounding total of 33 boards tied for the second-fewest count of the season (Minnesota was held to 31 rebounds against the Lakers on Dec. 8).

The Magic dominated on the glass and had five players with seven or more rebounds. Juancho Hernangomez was the only Wolves player to record more than five rebounds in that game, and Minnesota’s starting center rookie center Naz Reid was held to one single board and four personal fouls.

Yet, Ryan Saunders kept his faith in Reid and shared his belief that his 20-year-old center was still showing growth the following week. And Reid has lived up to his coach's words ever since.

Reid has been the Wolves’ leading rebounder in their last three games (tied with Hernangomez for 12 rebounds vs. Dallas) and is averaging 12.3 rebounds per game ever since his quiet night against the Magic.

Orlando’s starting frontcourt of Nikola Vučević and Aaron Gordon will present a mighty challenge for Reid again, but we’re now talking about the player who held his own against Zion Williamson earlier in the week. Reid is up for the task.

While the Magic haven’t been able to string together a win since facing the Wolves on Feb. 28, Ross has continued to produce one of the best stretches of his eight-year career.

Ross is averaging 26.3 points, three rebounds and one assist per game while shooting 55.6% from the field and 57.1% from deep ever since his 33-point performance against the Wolves.

The Wolves will need to impede with the Magic’s ball-movement and force Ross to shoot long 2-point shots (where he was 2-for-4 on Feb. 28) if it means keeping him from scorching them in 3-point territory (where he was 7-for-15).

Wolves: Karl-Anthony Towns (wrist) is out.

Magic: Jonathan Isaac (knee) and Al-Farouq Aminu (knee) are out.

Wolves: PG—Russell, SG—Beasley, SF—Okogie, PF—Hernangomez, C—Reid

Orlando: PF—Fultz, SG—Fournier, SF—Ennis, PF—Gordon, C—Vučević

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Scouting Report | Wolves vs. Magic

The Timberwolves don’t have much time to celebrate their win from Tuesday night in New Orleans. Here we are, 24 hours later, and the Wolves host the Chicago Bulls at Target Center.

Minnesota goes into the game with an 18-42 record, but it has impressive wins over the Heat and the Pelicans in the last week. The Wolves beat the Pelicans 139-134 behind 51 combined points from the backcourt duo of Malik Beasley and D’Angelo Russell.

Chicago is 21-40, 10th in the East. The Bulls are coming off an impressive 109-107 win over the Mavericks on Monday.

This is the second and final matchup between the two teams this season. The Bulls beat the Wolves 117-110 back on Jan. 22 in Chicago.

What: Wolves vs. BullsWhen: 7 p.m. CT, Tuesday, March 4Where: Target CenterWatch: Fox Sports North Listen: 830 WCCOTickets

Both Beasley and Juan Hernangomez are having perhaps their best 10-game stretches in their respective careers.

Since joining the Wolves, Beasley is averaging 21.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. While that’s great, it’s more about how he’s doing it. Beasley is shooting a career-high 43.3 percent from the 3-point line and his 58.4 effective field goal percentage matches his career-high from 2018-19.

As for Hernangomez, the big man is averaging 14 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Again, solid numbers. But it’s more about the fact that he’s shooting 46.6 from the field, 45.8 percent from the 3-point line and has an effective field goal percentage of 57.3 that has made his run with the team so impressive.

There’s a good chance the three pieces that Minnesota sent to Chicago in the Jimmy Butler trade won’t play in this one. Kris Dunn (knee) and Zach LaVine (quad) will surely be out. Lauri Markkanen (ankle) is listed as questionable.

That trade was less than three years ago, but it feels like three decades ago sometimes with how different this Timberwolves team is. 

Wolves: Karl-Anthony Towns (wrist) is out.

Bulls: Kris Dunn (knee), Zach LaVine (quads), and Max Strus (knee) and Luke Kornet (ankle) are out. Chandler Hutchison (shoulder) and Lauri Markkanen (pelvis) are questionable.

Bulls: PG—Satoransky, SG – Harrison, SF – Valentine, PF – Young, C – Carter 

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Scouting Report | Wolves vs. Bulls

The Wolves will finish the first week of March with a three-game homestand but are tasked with taking on the Pelicans in New Orleans on Tuesday before returning to Target Center.

Minnesota dropped a 111-91 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. The Wolves ended the Mavs’ 13-game streak of hitting 14 or more 3s but uncharacteristically struggled on the offensive end themselves.

The Wolves are now 17-42 on the season, good for 14th in the Western Conference standings.

The Pelicans are coming off a nationally televised game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The LeBron James vs. Zion Williamson didn’t disappoint as the two players combined for 69 points, 35 of which came from the rookie on his career night. But the Lakers ultimately defeated the Pelicans 122-114 after holding New Orleans to 19 fourth-quarter points.

Sunday’s loss dropped the Pelicans to 26-34, which earns them the ninth-place spot in the West. They’re currently three games back from the eighth-place spot, which the Memphis Grizzlies currently hold.

Minnesota and New Orleans faced off earlier in the season on Dec. 18 when the Pelicans served the Wolves a 107-99 home loss while Williamson was still nursing a knee injury that kept him sidelined until Jan. 22. The two teams will complete their three-game season series at Target Center on March 8. I have a feeling Williamson’s availability may impact the atmosphere of the Wolves’ final two games against the Pelicans.

What: Wolves at PelicansWhen: 7 p.m. CT, Tuesday, March 3Where: Smoothie King CenterWatch: Fox Sports North Listen: 830 WCCO

In just 15 games, Zion has already made his mark on the NBA.

Zion is the type of player fans go out of their way to see live and likely never forget the day they did so. Watching the king of milestones is a milestone within itself.

His 35 points against the Lakers in Sunday’s game were a career-high, and he’s now averaging 29 points on 61% shooting from the field over his last seven games.

And Zion doesn’t just rack up stats quietly. He makes his presence known by leaping over defenders to complete lob dunks and reaching for the rafters when going up to contest opponents’ shots.

Memphis’ Ja Morant is still the favorite to earn the 2020 Rookie of the Year Award given Zion will only play 37 regular-season games at the most in his rookie campaign. But the fact that Zion is even challenging Morant for the award says something about how impactful his first 15 games have been.

Zion’s highly-anticipated debut was pretty spectacular.

The rookie played 18 minutes against the Spurs and recorded 22 points, 17 of which came in the fourth quarter.

The feat was astonishing but nothing new to Jake Layman.

On Nov. 16, then-rookie Layman contributed 17 fourth-quarter points in his career debut with the Portland Trail Blazers. He also became the first Trail Blazer to hit five 3-pointers in a debut.

Layman has been back with the Wolves for their last four games after missing three months of the season due to a toe injury. It’s clear that Layman is still shaking off some rust, which is to be expected, but his basket cutting and floor spacing led to a road win in Miami and has already positively impacted the Wolves’ offense.

Pelicans: Kenrich Williams (back) is questionable. JJ Redick (hamstring) and Darius Miller (Achilles) are out.

Pelicans: PG—Ball, SG—Holiday, SF—Ingram, PF—Williamson, C—Favors

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Scouting Report | Wolves at Pelicans

After a four-game road trip which included an upset win over the Heat, the Timberwolves are back at home on Sunday afternoon to take on Luka Doncic and the Mavericks.

This is actually the second time in the last week the two teams have faced off. The Mavericks beat the Wolves 139-123 in Dallas on Monday.

The Timberwolves go into the game with a 17-41 record, 14th in the West. The Mavericks are 36-24, seventh in the West but just 4.5 games back from the No. 2 seed.

This is the third of four matchups between the two teams this season. They’ll face off again on April 1 at Target Center. 

What: Wolves vs. MavericksWhen: 2:30 p.m. CT, SundayWhere: Target CenterWatch: Fox Sports North Listen: 830 WCCOTickets

Do you know who has been really good from the 3-point line in his eight games with the Timberwolves?

This headline should have given you some sort of a hint, but the correct answer is Juancho Hernangomez. Hernangomez is shooting 18-for-37 (48.6 percent) from the 3-point line since being traded to Minnesota. 

In 34 games prior to the trade from Denver, Hernangomez was shooting just 25 percent from deep.

Part of it is that Minnesota’s offense revolves more around the 3-point shot than Denver’s. Another is that Hernangomez is getting more time to find his groove with the Timberwolves, averaging 28.9 minutes per game compared to just 12.4 in Denver. 

No matter what the reason is, Timberwolves fans are hoping Juancho can keep the good times rolling. 

The NBA world has been without superstar Steph Curry due to a hand injury for the majority of the season, which is obviously a huge bummer.

Seth Curry is coming off a 39-point performance against the Heat on Friday night in which he shot 8-for-9 from the 3-point line. On the season, the Mavericks guard is shooting 44.8 percent from the 3-point line on 5.0 attempts per game. That percentage ranks third in the NBA behind only George Hill and J.J. Redick. 

Over his last three games, he’s been especially great, hitting 15-of-22 3-pointers.

In his career, Curry is shooting 44.2 percent from deep, which ranks second all-time behind only Steve Kerr. His older brother ranks fifth on the list, shooting 43.5 percent from deep. 

Mavericks: Willie Cauley-Stein (personal), Jalen Brunson (shoulder) and Dwight Powell (Achilles) are out. 

Mavericks: PG—Doncic, SG – Curry, SF – Hardaway, PF – Finney-Smith, C - Porzingis

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Scouting Report | Wolves vs. Mavericks

The Wolves will conclude their four-game road trip in Orlando with a Friday night game against the Magic.

The Wolves earned a thrilling 129-126 win in Miami on Wednesday night after making several clutch plays in crunch time. It was the first time since 2009 that the Wolves came back from facing a 10-point deficit with under five minutes to play.

The win improved the Wolves’ record to 17-40, good for 14th in the Western Conference standings.

The Magic are currently on a two-game winning streak after defeating the Atlanta Hawks 130-120 on Wednesday. They enter Friday’s game with a 26-32 record, which has earned them the eighth-place spot in the East.

The Wolves and Magic have yet to face off this season. After Friday, they’ll meet at the Target Center on March 6 for their second and final matchup of the season.

What: Wolves at MagicWhen: 6 p.m. CT, Feb. 28Where: Amway CenterWatch: Fox Sports North PlusListen: 830 WCCO

Before the trade deadline, the Wolves were shooting 32.5% from 3-point range, which was a league-worst rate. Back then, the Wolves were also attempting 39.4 3s per game, good for third-most in the league.

Fast forward three weeks and both of those statistics have improved.

In their eight games since the trade deadline, the Wolves are attempting 43.3 3s per game, which ranks just behind the Houston Rockets who average 46.5 3PAs per game.

And as the volume of 3s taken rises, so does the Wolves’ accuracy.

The new Wolves squad is connecting on 39.3% of its 3s, which propels them to sixth in 3P% since the trade deadline.

At least two Wolves players have connected on two or more 3s in their last eight games, and three or more have hit the three 3-pointers mark in three of those games.

D’Angelo Russell led the sharpshooting on Wednesday by hitting seven of the 14 3s he attempted, becoming the fourth Timberwolf to hit seven 3s in a game this season (Karl-Anthony Towns x2, Andrew Wiggins and Malik Beasley). He’s shooting 39.6% from deep with the Wolves and attempting 9.6 3s per game. I’ll take that.

More importantly, the Wolves’ offensive rating has improved from 106.4 (23rd in the league) to 115.7 (sixth) since Minnesota’s President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas revamped his roster.

It’s crazy what can happen when you trust the pRosas.

For the Magic, 3-point shooting has one of their most shortcomings this month.

Before Feb. 6, Orlando was shooting 33.6% from behind the arc and didn’t do much to bolster their roster before the trade deadline aside from acquiring James Ennis who isn’t exactly a 3-point shooting maven.

Since the trade deadline, the Magic are shooting 33.5% from deep and only hitting 34.4% (fifth-worst in the league) of their attempts that come when the closest defender is at least six feet away. To compare, the Wolves are connecting on 42.4% (fifth-best) of their wide-open 3-point attempts since the trade deadline.

The Wolves will have quite the offensive advantage if these trends continue on Friday.

Magic: Al-Farouq Aminu (knee) and Jonathan Isaac (knee) are out.

Magic: PG—Fultz, SG—Fournier, SF—Ennis, PF—Gordon, C—Vučević

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Scouting Report | Wolves at Magic

The Timberwolves’ four-game road trip continues on Wednesday night when they face the Heat in Miami.

So far, the Wolves are 0-2 on the current road trip. Their most recent loss came on Monday night when they fell 136-123 to the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Monday’s loss dropped the Wolves to 16-40 on the season, good for 14th in the Western Conference standings.

The Heat have lost three of their last four games, including a disappointing overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, which came Monday night. The Heat were without All-Star Jimmy Butler (personal reasons) in Monday’s game against the Cavs, but giving up a 22-point lead still had to sting.

Yet, the Heat still hold a commendable 36-21 record and sit in fourth place in the East.

Wednesday’s game will be the Wolves and Heat’s second and final matchup of the season. It’s hard to take much away from their first meeting when the Wolves defeated the Heat 116-109 on Oct. 27—despite how thrilling it was — given how much these two teams have changed since the second week of the season.

What: Wolves at HeatWhen: 6:30 p.m. CT, Feb. 26Where: American Airlines ArenaWatch: Fox Sports North Listen: 830 WCCO

It still feels weird seeing Andre Iguodala, one of the Heat’s newest players, play basketball in anything other than a Golden State Warriors jersey.

Sure, Iguodala spent the first eight years of his career with the Sixers and was even named an All-Star while in Philly, but he earned most of his notoriety while playing for the dynastic Warriors.

With the Warriors, Iggy was named to the All-Defensive First Team and was assigned the daunting task of defending LeBron James during the Warriors and Cavs’ Finals battles from 2015-2018. No one shuts down LeBron, but Iggy’s attempt at doing so earned him the 2015 Finals MVP, an award Steph Curry has yet to add to his brilliant resume.

But the 2019-20 season has been much quieter for Iguodala.

The Warriors traded Iguodala to the Memphis Grizzlies during July 2019’s free agency. Iguodala never played a game for the young Grizzlies, who’re currently far ahead of schedule in their rebuilding process. After he continued to express interest in wanting to play with a team capable of contending now, the Grizzlies sent Iggy along with Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill to the Heat in the three-team trade that also brought James Johnson to the Wolves and sent Gorgui Dieng to the Grizzlies.

Iguodala has only played six games with the Heat, and his new team is 2-4 in those games. He’s averaging a career-low 4.3 points along with 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 blocks and 20.3 minutes per game with the Heat but could easily become a player who gives them an edge once the postseason arrives.

The Wolves have lost four of their last five games, but the backcourt of D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley has given fans plenty to be excited about. Kyle Ratke wrote more about the duo on Tuesday.

In the four games they’ve played together, Russell and Beasley are combining for 46.5 points, 10.25 assists and 8.25 rebounds on average. Neither player seems to overshadow the other. Instead, they look stronger when on the court together.

According to Cleaning the Glass, when Russell and Beasley share the court, the Wolves are averaging 125 points per 100 possessions (100th percentile in the league) and are recording a 54.8% effective field goal percentage (82nd). Also, only 11.9% (96th) of the team’s possessions result in a turnover when Russell and Beasley make up the backcourt.

They’re passing the eye test with flying colors, too. It’s time to start brainstorming nicknames for the Wolves’ starting backcourt.

Wolves: Karl-Anthony Towns (wrist) and Allen Crabbe (personal reasons) are out.

Heat: Meyers Leonard (ankle), Jimmy Butler (personal reasons) and Tyler Herro (foot) are all questionable. Kyle Alexander (knee) is out.

Heat: PG—Nunn, SG—Robinson, SF—Jones Jr., PF—Olynyk, C—Adebayo

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Scouting Report | Wolves at Heat

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