Timberwolves at 76ers, 5 p.m. Wells Fargo Center Fox Sports North, 830 WCCO
Why you should be watch:
Both of these teams are fighting like crazy for playoff positioning.
The Wolves, who just clinched their first winning season since 2004-05 at 42-31, are seventh in the West, just 1.5 games back from fourth and one game back from fifth and sixth. That’s great, but they’re also jus tone game up on the eighth seed and two games up on ninth place.
The 76ers find themselves at fourth in the East at 41-30, 1.5 games back from the Cavaliers for the third spot, but just 0.2 percentage points ahead of the Pacers.
There are lots of individual battles to watch in this one. Rookie of the Year candidate Ben Simmons vs. Andrew Wiggins. Joel Embiid vs. Karl-Anthony Towns.
This should be a fun one with plenty of emotion.
Opposing player I’ll be watching:
It’s going to be nearly impossible not to be glued into the Embiid and Towns battle.
Towns leads the league with 60 double-doubles and is averaging 27.5 points and 12.5 rebounds over his last six games. In the matchup against the 76ers on Dec. 12 (a Wolves’ six-point loss), Towns finished with 19 points and 16 rebounds.
Embiid is averaging 23.4 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. More importantly, he’s played in 60 games this season. In the Dec. 12 matchup, Embiid finished with 28 points,12 rebounds and eight assists.
It’s safe to say Towns will be looking for some revenge.
Injuries:
76ers: Markelle Fultz (shoulder) is out.
Wolves: Jimmy Butler (knee) is out. Derrick Rose (ankle) is out.
Starting Lineups:
76ers: PG – Simmons, SG – Reddick, SF – Covington, PF – Saric, C - Embiid
Wolves: PG – Teague, SG – Wiggins, SF – Bjelica, PF – Gibson, C – Towns