After dropping the first two games of 2017, including a crushing last second loss in Philadelphia, the Timberwolves find themselves still seeking their first win of 2017.
Unfortunately, the Wolves will be facing an improved Wizards team that is back at home, where they have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 13-6 and have seemed to have turned the proverbial corner since the beginning of December, a month in which they went 10-5.
After going 6-11 to start the season, Washington has really found their groove of late and a large part of that has to do with the play of All-Star point guard John Wall, who averaged 24.5 points, 10.7 assist, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game in December.
Sparked by a 52-point performance against the Orlando Magic on December 6th, the electrifying guard continued his momentum through the remainder of the calendar year to earn Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors.
Minnesota, on the other hand, has not shared the same improvement and are coming off their second consecutive losing month (third if you count their 0-2 stint in October), going 6-9 in December. And although they won two of the last three games before the calendar turned to 2017, they found themselves back on another losing streak for the seventh time this season to start the new year.