One of the most exciting aspects of the Timberwolves’ trade earlier this week for basketball nerds was the potential of Karl-Anthony Towns along with Dario Saric.
Both are great shooters for their size and have unique play-making ability. Towns does a good job of recognizing cutters and Saric just sees things other players don’t see. While Saric didn't start alongside Towns in his first game with the Wolves, they will likely see more time together once Saric picks up on Minnesota’s offensive and defensive schemes. Whether or not that means Saric eventually becomes a starter has yet to be seen (Taj Gibson has said he's fine starting or coming off the bench), but Towns is excited about a play-making power forward and how it could help unleash each other.
“Dario is one heck of a player,” Towns said after Friday’s shootaround before the teams takes on the Blazers. “He’s a heck of a talent. Very blessed and honored to have him. His unselfishness is contagious and he’s a great personality. Great character.”
Gotta Guard Them All
One of the intriguing things about new Wolves wing Rob Covington is the fact that he can guard three, and sometimes four positions. That will likely be the case tonight when the Wolves go up against the Blazers backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.
“The versatility of all those guys. I think when you look at Lillard and you look at McCollum, that’s the obvious part,” Thibodeau said. “Both are very dynamic in pick and roll. Both are also dynamic catch and shoot players.”
Covington primarily plays small forward, but don’t be surprised to see him on Lillard more than a few times tonight. Sometimes the Blazers use Evan Turner at point, and we could see Jeff Teague guard him.
Whoever Covington guards, he’s up for the challenge.
“He’s a very gifted player,” Covington said of Lillard. “But I use my length and athleticism to disrupt a lot of people . . . No matchup in front of me gives me jitters. Just embrace it.”
Tolliver Keeping His Head Up
With the trade for Saric, Anthony Tolliver saw his first DNP of the season. Prior to that, Tolliver was playing 19.1 minutes per game.
It appears as if he’s out of the rotation for now, but Tolliver is a pro and a well-respected one at that.
“It’s part of being part of the team,” Tollier said. “ . . . It’s obviously not what I came here for, but it’s one game. It’s a long season.”
Tolliver is spot on. There will unfortunately be injuries and things happen. Tolliver is a solid player who can hit threes and play defense at a high level. He’ll get his opportunity at some point.
The Wolves will debut their City Edition uniforms tonight. The main dude Julian Andrews wrote about that here.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT on Fox Sports North and 830 WCCO. Tickets are available here. As I’ve said before, this is a game worth going to. There will be plenty of Prince-themed fun happening throughout the night.