What To Watch For: Minnesota Timberwolves at Washington Wizards
By Ben Beecken
The Timberwolves look to build an all-important winning streak after Sunday’s win over the Warriors as they visit Washington D.C. to take on the Wizards.
The Wolves are coming off of an impressive, nationally-televised win over the mighty Golden State Warriors on Sunday afternoon. In related news, they can’t afford a let-down as they take on the Washington Wizards on the road Tuesday evening.
This is the first of three games this week that you’ll be able to find the Timberwolves on NBATV; they’ll have another three-day break before traveling on San Antonio for a Saturday evening showdown and then south to Houston to see the Rockets on Sunday.
The Wizards sit sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 38-29 record, which isn’t all bad considering that John Wall hasn’t played in about six weeks. The Wolves are at a similar 39-29 mark, which puts them in a fifth-place tie in the West, only a half-game behind Oklahoma City.
Here are a couple of keys to Tuesday’s tilt in our nation’s capital…
Keep Karl-Anthony Towns involved
Karl-Anthony Towns was finally fed the ball on a consistent basis in the win over Golden State, attempting 24 shots and scoring 31 points, including 14 in what was a monster fourth quarter performance.
Wolves players said as much after the game — Towns needs to be involved, and good things happen when he’s the focal point of the offense.
Jeff Teague on KAT taking over down stretch: "We forced it. I told him to get down on that block. He got down on that block and he made plays. He's a talented basketball player, one of the most talented players I've ever seen. We need him to be big down the stretch and he did."
— Jace frederick (@JaceFrederick) March 11, 2018
More Teague on going to KAT late: "He's a tough cover, inside-outside, he's one of the best players in the league for a reason, and we've got to get him the ball in those situations. He played well tonight and he made all-star plays."
— Jace frederick (@JaceFrederick) March 11, 2018
The Wizards will undoubtedly load up on Towns when he catches (or is about to catch) the ball in the low-post. To this point, KAT has done a solid job finding open players on the perimeter and cutters in the lane. Nemanja Bjelica and Jeff Teague are both legitimate 3-point shooting threats, and Wiggins is one of the better cutters in the league.
The Jimmy Butler-less offense must continue to run through Towns. If it does, it’s hard to imagine Marcin Gortat and Markieff Morris slowing KAT down too much in this one.
An appropriate amount of aggressiveness from Andrew Wiggins
Wiggins was great on Sunday. In a game that, in the end, was all about Towns, Wiggins still got 23 points on 16 shots. He only turned the ball over once in 37 minutes and knocked down two of his four 3-point attempts.
The key to Wiggins in a Towns-centric offense is cutting into the lane, and knocking down threes when he needs to do so (read: when he’s wide-open). Wiggins should not be handling in the pick-and-roll all too often, although his decision-making and passing continues to improve, albeit incrementally. He also settles for too many jumpers when handling on the perimeter, and he knows it.
Andrew Wiggins: "I had my mind set on not settling for jump shots unless it's there and just driving to the rim."
— Jace frederick (@JaceFrederick) March 11, 2018
Does Wiggins settle too much at times?
"I settle sometimes. I love my shot, but I've just got to stay aggressive and keep driving."
Facing a Wall-less Wizards team should be a win for the Wolves, but nothing comes easy for this team. Washington will undoubtedly be excited for the chance to beat a Wolves team that just downed Golden State, and Minnesota needs to be ready.
Next: Will the Butler-less Wolves make the playoffs?
If Towns and Wiggins come to play and Bjelica continues his strong stretch of play, the Wolves should be able to escape D.C. with a win.