Season Preview

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The Minnesota Timberwolves (24-24) head to Phoenix to take on the Suns (38-9) on the second night of a back-to-back.

Minnesota is coming off a loss versus the Golden State Warriors, 124-115. Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 58 points in the loss. During the third quarter, D’Angelo Russell left the game with a Left Shin Contusion and did not return. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 52 points in the win. The Warriors shot 58.3% from deep while the Warriors shot 22.7% from deep. The season series with the Warriors is now 2-1 in Golden State’s favor.

Phoenix has won eight straight, most recently against the Utah Jazz, 105-97. Devin Booker dropped 43 points and 12 rebounds while Chris Paul added 21 points of his own. The Suns have a home record of 19-5 this season.

The Suns have won two straight games against the Wolves leading back to the 2020-21 season. The most recent Suns win was a 99-96 nailbiter at Target Center in November of 2021.

Suns: Deandre Ayton (Right Ankle Sprain), Jae Crowder (Left Wrist Contusion), Frank Kaminsky (Right Knee Stress Reaction), JaVale McGee (Left Knee Soreness), Abdel Nader (Right Knee Injury Management), Cameron Payne (Right Wrist Sprain), and Dario Saric (Right Acl Tear) are OUT.

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Preview: Wolves At Suns

On Tuesday, the Wolves had a short practice focused on solidifying some things on offense, getting some shots up and preparing for their season opener in San Antonio. After a week of tough practices, this one was a bit lighter in order to keep the team fresh for Wednesday’s game.

While the team tends to practice at a high speed, players and coaches understand that there’s really no substitute for in-game action. It’s one thing to play against your teammates and another to face a real opponent.

“We’ve had a couple days where we’ve done quite a bit of scrimmaging, but practice is a lot different than a game, there’s a different intensity level to it,” said coach Tom Thibodeau. “Of course [Jimmy Butler] is game planned for, Karl’s game planned for, Wiggs is game planned for, so that makes it different also.”

The Wolves didn’t play particularly well in the preseason, but they aren’t too concerned about it. Anthony Tolliver admitted that the team should have been more focused in the preseason, but said the important thing about preseason games is not the result but rather what you take out of it. He’s confident that there will be a better product on the floor than there was during preseason.

“We never quite got everybody on the same page. And in this league, even in the preseason, if you don’t have everyone on the same page you’re going to get beat,” said Tolliver. “I think everybody’s minds have adjusted and bodies have adjusted. Going into tomorrow I feel good.”

Having Butler back will help as well. Despite the events of the last few weeks, both Tolliver and Thibodeau said that they have no doubt that Butler will give the team everything he has every night.

“It’s not in his DNA to slack,” said Tolliver. “He only knows one way, so no matter what’s going on off the court, whatever, once we get between those lines and he has our jersey on he’s going to play and everything’s going to be about winning.”

That’s the focus now—winning. Preseason is over, training camp is over, and after months of talk, it’s finally time to play the season. Every single team is 0-0 and the Wolves are confident in their ability to hang with every team every night. We’ll see you on Wednesday for the season opener. 

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Training Camp Report | Getting Everyone On The Same Page

The Wolves took the court Monday for their second to last day of practice before they open the season in San Antonio on Wednesday night. While the results in the preseason haven’t been great, players and coaches feel like they’re in decent shape.

“We got a lot of work to do, but I would feel like that in any circumstance,” said coach Tom Thibodeau. “That’s what the season is all about too. You don’t have everything figured out in a day or a week or three weeks. You can be playing well and all of a sudden you go into a tailspin. Usually that occurs when you start to relax or take shortcuts, so we know we have a lot of work to do.”

For Karl-Anthony Towns, the key for Minnesota is translating the energy and intensity the team has in practice into games. The Wolves run practices at game speed and compete very hard in camp so physically the players are ready to go but the focus and commitment to every single possession needs to be there in game situations. For his part, Towns is certain the team can pull things together.

“We come in here and have great practices. We always have great practices and the competition is high and the intensity is high, it’s just about doing that now in a game and sustaining it for 48 minutes,” he said. “So do I feel confident? Absolutely. I feel confident in the guys we have in the locker room, I feel confident in the competition that’s here in practice, I feel confident in everyone’s talents. So I feel very confident going in, we just got to do what we need to do.”

Veteran Derrick Rose has been through his fair share of training camps and said that he doesn’t put much stock in preseason record. He said he’s been a part of teams that won all their preseason games that had bad season and vice versa.

“It’s all about what you take out of it,” said Rose. “As long as personally, if you’re out there playing hard and doing what you’re supposed to do, it’s for the betterment of the team. Everybody’s not going to have that chemistry right now, it’s going to take time, period.”

The biggest area of concern for the team heading into the regular season is certainly their defense. The Wolves’ players will be the first to admit that they gave up way too many points in the preseason. Like many other areas of their game, players feel like they have the tools, they just need to execute in games. 

“If we play defense the way we’re supposed to and we play defense the way we do here in practice, we should have no problems against most of the teams in the league and other teams it’ll be a great fight,” said Towns. 

For two of the Wolves’ players, Wednesday’s game is more than just the start of the regular season. Josh Okogie and Keita Bates-Diop will both be suiting up for their first-ever NBA game. Thibodeau has been impressed with their effort so far and loves the energy they bring to the group. 

“They’ve embraced the learning aspect of it,” he said. “It’s like anything else, if you’re doing it for the first time you have to develop an understanding of it. I think coming and doing the right things each and every day, and just be a sponge, learn as much as you can but bring energy. That’s what I think both young guys are doing they’re bringing a lot of energy to our team.” 

While the energy is important, it’s also key for rookies to slow down and play smart—that’s the message Towns has been sending to the two young players every day. 

“It’s an experience they need to savor and enjoy. I told them the same thing KG told me my whole rookie year and I still abide by today: slow down and breath,” said Towns. “When you’ve got athletes like that you just got to tell them to calm down and play smart.”

Okogie and Bates-Diop feel prepared and ready for the moment, but there’s no doubt it’s a big achievement to play in their first NBA game. All those hours at the gym, the sweat from countless hours of practice, it’s all paying off.

“It will be a dream come true,” said Bates-Diop. “I’ve dreamed about this since I was a kid, so when I finally get out there it’ll be a dream realized.” 

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Training Camp Report | Defense, Intensity And A Big Moment For The Rookies

This might be the year that talent and opportunity line up for Tyus Jones.

Jones had the best season of his career last season, scoring 5.1 points per game and adding 2.8 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals. Jones played in every Wolves game last year, averaging 17.9 minutes per game.

While his numbers from last season don’t jump off the page, there’s a lot to like about Jones’ game in the context of this year’s Timberwolves team that lead us to believe he may be the Wolves’ breakout player of the year.

Coach Tom Thibodeau has spoken at length about playing more three-guard lineups. Those lineups will certainly include Jones. Jones is versatile enough to play alongside any of the Wolves’ guards and can play either the one or the two. With Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose both having the strength to play the small forward in smaller lineups, Jones could see a lot of time at shooting guard with Jeff Teague running the point. With Teague on the bench, Jones can also serve as the primary ball handler for the team.

With the departure of Jamal Crawford, who played 20.7 minutes per game last season, Jones could easily see 20+ minutes per game, provided he performs. Jones proved last year that he can be very durable and play many roles for the Wolves. That’s very important and not often discussed. Though he’ll have a role regardless, Jones will almost certainly be the first man up should the Wolves deal with any injuries.

Jones was very good last season in situations where he was allowed to play a larger role. In 14 games where he played 20-29 minutes, he averaged 7.7 points and 4.4 assists and was a +20 overall. In 11 starts Jones averaged 9.4 points and 4.9 assists per game and was +18.4. The talent is clearly there for Jones, it’s just a matter of figuring out his fit. 

The area where Jones needs the most improvement is his defense. Though his steal numbers improved last year and he is a physical defender, the young guard still needs to work on his decision making and positioning on defense. Thibodeau has said as much during training camp: Jones’ time on the court is dependent on his growth on defense.

As hard of a worker as Jones is, there’s little doubt that he will take another step forward this year. That improvement plus a larger opportunity should lead to a breakout year for the Minnesota native. 

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Preseason Predictions | Tyus Jones Will Be The Wolves' Breakout Player

Twenty-nine different opposing NBA teams will walk through the doors of Target Center to play the Wolves this season, and we want you to know as much as you can about all of them. We’re going worst to first in order of last year’s standings and telling you everything you need to know. Next up, a Nuggets team loaded with young talent but quite a few questions—especially on defense.

Notable Players Acquired: F Michael Porter Jr. (draft), C Jarred Vanderbilt (draft/trade), C Thomas Welsh (draft), G Isaiah Thomas (free agency)

Notable Players Lost: F Kenneth Faried (free agency), Wilson Chandler (trade), Devin Harris (free agency)

Recapping 2017-18: We all know how the Nuggets’ season ended, but how did they get there?

Before being defeated by the Wolves in the last game of the season and missing the postseason as a result, the Nuggets put together a surprising and impressive season. The Nuggets may not have been able to make it back into the playoffs, but they have plenty of reason for optimism going forward. They have an exciting young trio of players in Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris and Jamal Murray. Those three will certainly anchor their starting lineup for years to come, and paired with the dependable Paul Millsap, they could be really good this season. 

Jokic has demonstrated his ability to grow into an All-NBA level offensive talent. He is the best passing big in the game, he has a reliable outside shot and he can rebound with the best of them. His post moves are also advanced for a 22-year-old. Harris is a hot shooting with a strong defensive presence—he dropped 2.3 threes per game last season and added 1.8 steals. Murray rebounded from an up-and-down rookie year and emerged in his second season as a legitimate NBA starting point guard.

Isaiah Thomas is back in a reserve role where he’s excelled in the past. When healthy, Thomas is undoubtedly a starting-level guard in this league, but his game is such that he is able to be effective coming off the bench as well. He probably should have won a Sixth Man of the Year award already and he’ll have a real shot at it this year. 

In the draft, the Nuggets’ most notable acquisition was forward Michael Porter Jr. Porter Jr. was a top-ranked prospect coming out of high school, but a series of back issues that required surgery derailed his college career and scared many teams away from him in the draft. Porter Jr. fell to No. 14, where the Nuggets were more than happy to take a chance on him. If Porter Jr. can stay healthy he could be a perfect fit for this Nuggets roster desperately in need of wing talent, but if he can’t stay on the court, the Nuggets could come to regret passing up on players like Zhaire Smith, Troy Brown and Donte DiVincenzo.

Can Nikola Jokic ever learn to play defense? 

Jokic is a center and he is not a good defender. That’s a tough combination in today’s NBA. There are plenty of centers who aren’t known for their defense (including one on the Wolves’ roster), but the difference is it’s unclear if Jokic has the physical tools to ever develop into an average defender at his position. Jokic is an incredible offensive talent which makes him worth putting out on the floor every night, but the Nuggets need to construct a perfect roster around him to be able to defend well enough to compensate for his limitations. Will that roster be the one the Nuggets have this year? We’ll see. 

The key to beating the Nuggets is limiting Nikola Jokic’s ability to distribute. Jokic is a good scorer on his own, but he’s particularly deadly when the Nuggets are able to run their offense through him. Keeping Jokic on an island is key to any gameplan. That’s a tough task—Jokic is creative and talented—but Taj Gibson did an admirable job on him during last year’s pivotal Game 82. That tape should come in handy. 

Outside of Jokic, shutting down Denver’s options on the wing is key. That spot is already an area of weakness for the team, who don’t really have anybody behind Will Barton other than Porter Jr., so turning it into a zero is key. The Nuggets are talented but they’re not particularly deep. Making them turn to players who don’t see a lot of time is a recipe for success.

The Nuggets will be right in the thick of the playoff race. In such a loaded Western Conference, it’s tough to predict exactly where they’ll fall. A lot rides on whether or not Thomas and Porter Jr. can stay healthy. If they can, and they are able to give the Nuggets even more offensive firepower, this team could be dangerous. If they can’t stay on the floor, the Nuggets could find themselves in a very similar situation as they did last year: in the hunt, but ultimately on the outside looking in.

Young, incredibly talented offensive team. Might not be able to play defense. 

The Nuggets visit the Wolves on Nov. 21 and Feb. 2. The Wolves visit Denver on Mar. 12 and Apr. 10. 

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2018-19 Season Preview Extravaganza | Can The Nuggets Become Relevant In The West?

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