Timberwolves vs. 76ers | 7:00 PM, Target Center
Where To Watch: Fox Sports North Plus
Where to Listen 830 WCCO
After falling to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, the Philadelphia 76ers have opened the 2014-15 season with an 0-17 record - one shy of the NBA record for most losses to open a season.
The Timberwolves do not want to be the team to give Philadelphia its first win.
There’s talent on this Philadelphia squad, but it is young and untapped talent. This of course is part of Philadelphia's plan to build for the future.
Minnesota will benefit from Philly being without wing Tony Wroten, who will be out for about a week due to a leg injury. You could argue Wroten is Philadelphia’s best player. In his third NBA season, Wroten has averaged 17.9 points and 6.3 assists per contest.
The Wolves enter this game with a 4-12 record, 14th place in the Western Conference. This game kicks off a week in which the Wolves will also face off against the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs.
LAST MEETING
The two teams faced off twice last season and the Wolves came away with two wins, the last coming on Jan. 6 at the Wells Fargo Center. Minnesota defeated the 76ers 126-95 behind 26 point
s from Kevin Love (now with Cavaliers). Kevin Martin added 18, shooting 3-of-4 from the three-point line. Big man Nikola Pekovic finished with 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Corey Brewer and J.J. Barea contributed 15 and 13 points, respectively. Dante Cunningham (now a free-agent) and Alexey Shved scored 10 points each off the bench.
Thaddeus Young led Philadelphia with 20 points, while James Anderson (no longer in NBA) had a bench-high 14. Evan Turner (now with Celtics) and Michael Carter-Williams finished with 13 points each.
THIS WEEK’S RESULTS
The Wolves are coming off of a 127-101 road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night. Shabazz Muhammad led the Wolves with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins added 14 points, while Robbie Hummel chipped in 13. Rookie Zach LaVine had his second double-digit performance in three games, finishing with 10 points off the bench. The Wolves were outscored 34-16 in the second quarter.
The 76ers are coming off of a 109-103 home loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. Carter-Williams led the way with 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Shved had a bench-high 19 points, while Henry Sims had 12. Rookie K.J. McDaniels had 10 points, nine rebounds and three steals off the bench.
KEY MATCHUP: THADDEUS YOUNG VS. NERLENS NOEL
This is an interesting matchup being that Young spent his first seven years as a pro in Philadelphia before being shipped to Minnesota this summer as part of the Kevin Love trade.
The “rookie” has had an up and down 2014-15 season, averaging 7.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.Noel is a player who made Young expendable.
Noel missed his rookie season due to an ACL injury he suffered during his freshman season at Kentucky.
Listed at 6’11”, Noel has three inches on the 6’8” Young.
In his first season with Minnesota, Young is averaging 13.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
Noel is currently listed as questionable (hip). He sat out of Monday's game against the Spurs.
Wolves: Kevin Martin (fractured right wrist), Nikola Pekovic (sprained right wrist), Ricky Rubio (sprained left ankle) and Ronny Turiaf (sore right hip) all remain out for the Wolves.
76ers: Tony Wroten (knee), Joel Embiid (foot) and Jason Richardson (foot) are out. Forward Nerlens Noel (hip) is questionable.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Wolves: PG – Williams, SG - Brewer, SF -Wiggins, PF - Young, C - Dieng
76ers: PG – Carter-Williams, SG – Thompson, SF – Mbah a Moute, PF – Noel, C - Sims