What To Watch For: Timberwolves vs. Nets

The Timberwolves will look to even the season series against the Brooklyn on Saturday night as they host the Nets at Target Center.

The Timberwolves are now on their sixth two-game losing streak thus far this season and will look to avoid their first streak of three or more losses against the Nets.

Brooklyn defeated the Wolves at Barclays Center just shy of a month ago in an ugly slog of a game that preceded Minnesota’s blowout loss in Boston just a couple of nights later.

The first time around, the Wolves had a seemingly countless number of shots that simply rimmed out. In a strange twist, they only managed to score 97 points and lost to the Nets by just one point due to some last minute heroics from Spencer Dinwiddie. Jimmy Butler missed a potential game-winning jumper on the final possession, and Kenny Atkinson’s squad escaped by the narrowest of margins.

Let’s take a quick look at what to watch for on Saturday night.

1. The 3-point shooting ‘battle’

When the Wolves visited Brooklyn a few weeks ago, they lost by one point despite making exactly one 3-pointer. That’s right: one.

While Minnesota shot 1-for-11 from beyond the arc, the Nets drained 14 of their 30 attempts — a sparkling 46.7 percent.

It’s important to note that the Nets’ marksman-like performance was an outlier; Brooklyn is currently 28th in the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage at just 34.7. They are second in attempts and makes per game, however, so they’ll be launching early and often. If the Wolves so much as bother Brooklyn’s shooters a marginal amount, they should be okay. Open shots, however, could spell the second straight upset for the Nets over the Timberwolves.

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At the end of the day, Brooklyn’s offense sits just 26th in offensive rating, and if the Wolves can keep the complete breakdowns to a minimum, they should be okay.

2. Slow down Dinwiddie

Spencer Dinwiddie is the only true threat on the Nets, especially with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson ruled out due to a groin strain suffered just 24 hours prior in Milwaukee. D’Angelo Russell, who has only played 16 games thus far this year in his return from injury, will rest on the second half of a back-to-back.

More than half of Dinwiddie’s shot attempts are 3-pointers, and while he’s knocking down only 33.9 percent of his threes, he did shoot 37.6 from beyond the arc last year and is still a dangerous scorer.

Jeff Teague has struggled on defense for much of the year, and he’ll be tasked with slowing down the Nets’ best player. Dinwiddie scored just 9 points on 1-of-6 shooting against the Bucks on Friday, but dropped 26 points on 9-of-14 including 4-of-7 from 3-point range and a pair of crunch time shots that buried the Wolves back on Jan. 3.

The Wolves will hopefully have a scheme devised to slow down Dinwiddie in case he’s able to get hot against Teague early in the game.

3. Bury them early

While a win is a win is a win, the Timberwolves could use an easy one on Saturday night.

Jimmy Butler has missed four games with a sore knee and is expected to play, but it would be great if he didn’t have to play 35-plus minutes in his return. The Wolves have lost two in a row and are coming off of a three-game West Coast swing and could use the rest in general.

Plus, the 18-31 Nets have lost five of their last seven and were blown out by 25 on Friday in Milwaukee. If Minnesota can jump out to a big first half lead, they should be able to bury their guests early if they commit to playing hard.

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We’ll be back with the wrap following the final horn. Enjoy the game!