Scouting Report | Wolves at Bucks

The Wolves are coming off of an emotional overtime win against the Nets on Monday at Target Center.

They are hoping to carry that momentum into Wednesday night’s game in Milwaukee, but it won’t be easy against a Bucks team that became the first team in the league to 30 wins after their 123-102 win over Chicago on Monday. 

This is the second matchup between the two teams this season. The Bucks beat the Wolves at Target Center 125-95 back on Oct. 26.

The Wolves go into the game with a 12-20 record, 12th in the West but just 1.5 games back from a playoff spot. The Bucks are 30-5, first in the East.

All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns has been out for seven-straight games with a knee sprain.

In Towns’ absence, Gorgui Dieng has been solid. In nine starts this season, Dieng is averaging 13.6 points and 10 rebounds per game. 

Dieng was a big reason why the Wolves beat the Nets, coming up with huge hustle plays down the stretch. Dieng finished with 11 points, 20 rebounds, three steals, one block and one assist in the game. 

The team also called up rookie Naz Reid from Iowa for Monday's game. Reid played nearly 20 minutes off the bench and finished with 13 points and four rebounds. He was a +4 in the game.

While you’d rather have Towns than not, especially against this team, fans have to feel good about what they’ve seen from those getting his minutes.

Good luck.

The 2018-19 MVP has been even better this season than last, averaging 30.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. The biggest difference in Antetokounmpo’s game is his ability to hit the three. He’s shooting 32.7 percent from deep on 5.1 attempts. Those attempts are nearly double what he took last season and his percentage is up more than seven percent. Even so, with how good he is at everything else, maybe letting him shoot from deep is the right move. There’s really no right answer here. 

I would expect Robert Covington to get the primary duty of guarding the Greek Freak, but this will truly be a team defensive effort. 

Wolves: Jake Layman (toe), Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) and Andrew Wiggins (flu-like symptoms) are out. Jeff Teague (knee) is doubtful. Treveon Graham (flu-like symptoms) and Noah Vonleh (left gluteal contusion) are questionable. Josh Okogie (right elbow) is probable. 

Bucks: Wesley Matthews (thigh) is questionable.  

Wolves: PG—Napier, SG—Culver, SF – Martin, PF—Covington, C—Dieng

Bucks: PG—Bledsoe, SG - DiVincenzo, SF - Middleton, PF - Antetokounmpo, C - Lopez