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The Wizards are set to take on the Timberwolves on Friday night at 8:00 P.M. ET at the Target Center. The game marks the second outing of a home-road back-to-back for Washington, coming off a Thursday night loss to the Bulls in D.C. The Timberwolves have not played since a Tuesday loss to the Clippers.
GAME INFO
Target Center | 8:00 P.M. | NBCSW | 1500 AM
PROBABLE STARTERS
Wizards: G – Raul Neto, G – Bradley Beal, F – Deni Avdija, F – Rui Hachimura, C – Thomas Bryant
Timberwolves: G – Ricky Rubio, G – D’Angelo Russell, F – Malik Beasley, F – Jarrett Culver, C – Naz Reid
INJURY REPORT
Wizards: Russell Westbrook (rest – out)
Timberwolves: Jaylen Nowell (left soleus strain – out), Josh Okogie (left hamstring strain – out), Karl-Anthony Towns (left preilunate subluxation – out)
STORYLINES
Wizards without Westbrook
The Wizards will take on the Timberwolves without Russell Westbrook, who has recorded triple-doubles in all four games he’s played for the Wizards, including the 150th of his career on Thursday. Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said before Thursday’s game against Chicago that the guard would “probably” sit out in Minnesota as he did in the second game of Washington’s previous back-to-back against Orlando and the team. The team confirmed Westbrook would be out on Friday afternoon.
With Westbrook out against the Magic, the Wizards were unable to come up with a win, but got a standout performance out of reserve guard Raul Neto. His 22 points (10-17 FG) tied a career high and accompanied five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Given how well he played in the same scenario last week, Neto is once again in line to replace Westbrook in the starting lineup should he miss Friday’s matchup. The one notable difference to the Washington rotation from last week’s back-to-back will be the presence of Rui Hachimura, who made his season debut Thursday night, scoring 17 points in 25 minutes.
Beal looks to keep scoring streak alive
Bradley Beal enters Friday night’s matchup in Minnesota having scored 20-plus points in 28 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NBA by a wide margin. The closest such streak belongs to Kawhi Leonard at 14 games. Beal’s scoring this season has been a constant for the Wizards. He’s poured in at least 28 points in every game, including a 39-point outburst against the Magic on December 26. He’s shot at least 42.0% in four of five games and has attempted double-digit free throws in three of four.
If last season can be any indication of how Beal will fare against the Timberwolves, he could be in for another big night. In two matchups with Minnesota, Beal averaged 37.0 points per game, including a 44-point, 10-assist performance in a 21-point win last November.
Scouting the Wolves
After starting the season 2-0, Minnesota dropped consecutive matchups in L.A. to the Lakers and Clippers to fall to 2-2. Their two losses have come without All-NBA center Karl-Anthony Towns, who is out indefinitely with a dislocated wrist and will not play against the Wizards. Without Towns, scoring production has been spread throughout the starting lineup. Rookie guard Anthony Edwards, who was selected with the first overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, has averaged 13.5 points per game in that time. Malik Beasley has averaged the same while D’Angelo Russell and Ricky Rubio have averaged 13.0 points of their own. Naz Reid, starting at center in place of Towns, has averaged 11.0 points per game.