Scouting Report | Wolves at Bucks

The Wolves came out of break strong, taking down the Knicks on Friday night in New York, 115-104.

This is obviously a different challenge, though. The Bucks are the best team in the NBA with a 44-14 record. Giannis Antetokounmpo is probably the MVP favorite and the Wolves have the challenge of tip offs in 25 hours.

Minnesota goes into the game with a 28-30 record, 10th in the West and four games back from a playoff spot. The Wolves have won three-straight games.

Milwaukee is 44-14, first in the East. The Bucks have also won three-straight games, including Thursday’s 98-97 thrilling win over the Celtics.

This is the second and final matchup between the two teams this season. They played back on Oct. 26 at Target Center and the Bucks won 125-95.

The big question mark in this game is whether or not Karl-Anthony Towns (concussion protocol) will play. Towns was in a car accident on Thursday prior to leaving for New York.

Anthony Tolliver hasn’t had a consistent role with the Wolves, but when he’s called upon, he’s played well. That was true especially in Friday night’s win over the Knicks. Tolliver played 20 minutes and finished with 16 points, shooting 4-for-5 from the 3-point line. Those four 3-pointers are a season high. With 3-point shooting at the top of interim head coach Ryan Saunders’ mind, we could see more of Tolliver in this one. 

How do you slow down Giannis Antetokounmpo? That’s been an issue for the NBA all season. The Greek Freak just made his third-straight All-Star game and is averaging career-highs of 27.2 points, 12.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. 

Basketball-Reference currently gives him a 52.8 percent chance to win MVP. In second is James Harden, who has a 13.7 percent chance. That just shows how impactful and crucial Antetokounmpo has been for his team this season.

Wolves: TBA 

Bucks: TBA 

Wolves: PG – Teague, SG - Okogie, SF - Wiggins, PF - Saric, C - Gibson

Bucks: PG – Bledsoe, SG – Brogdon, SF – Middleton, PF – Antetokounmpo, C - Lopez