Minnesota Timberwolves game preview: Oct. 5 at Golden State Warriors

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MARCH 13: Tyus Jones #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves handles the ball against the Washington Wizards on March 13, 2017 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Major key for Minnesota: Backup point guard battle

The Timberwolves’ backup point guard battle is the most entertaining and competitive on the roster.

Hometown kid Tyus Jones finds himself once again having to prove his worth in the league. It feels like he’s had to do that since he was selected with the 24th pick in the 2015 draft. He fought for a roster spot his rookie year, last year he was battling Kris Dunn for the backup role (and even John Lucas III) and this year he’s once again in a tight contest with veteran Aaron Brooks.

Brooks was signed right before the start of training camp and brings a certain level of familiarity with Tom Thibodeau after having played for him in Chicago. He’s a lightning rod off the bench who can get hot in a hurry and certainly brings more offensive firepower than Jones can provide.

However, Jones’ basketball IQ is through the roof and he’s nothing if not a scrapper. This intelligence and hard-work is what has gotten Jones to this point in his career and he understands that better than anyone.

They each took their turn on Saturday night against the Lakers to prove their worth. Unfortunately, neither one had an impressive showing, leaving more questions than answers.

This game provides another great opportunity for one of these players to separate from the other. Who will that be? We’ll have to tune in to find out.

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