Timberwolves vs. Bucks: Odds, injuries, and what to watch for

The Minnesota Timberwolves host the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night at Target Center in just the second home game of the season — and their second game without Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are 4-1 despite playing only one home game and having their best player suspended for two contests after an on-court altercation last Wednesday.

Of course, the second game of the suspension comes on Monday at Target Center as the Wolves play host to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Minnesota is coming off a dominant road win over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night. They buried Bradley Beal and Co., leading by more than 30 for a time in the second half before settling for a 22-point victory.

Without Towns, the Wolves were led by Andrew Wiggins (21 points), Robert Covington (20 points), Jarrett Culver (20 points), Jeff Teague (15 points and 13 assists), and a resurgent Gorgui Dieng (18 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks).

Expect Dieng to back in the starting lineup on Monday with Noah Vonleh and Jordan Bell splitting the backup minutes at the 5.

Timberwolves odds against the Bucks

• Favorite: Bucks (-7)
• Over/under: 229.5
• Moneyline: -310 Milwaukee/+250 Minnesota

Odds courtesy of The Action Network. Displayed odds current as of Monday at 1:00 p.m. CT.

Tickets, TV and streaming info for Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Milwaukee Bucks

• Television: Fox Sports North
• Radio: 830 WCCO
• Stream: Fubo.tv offers streaming options
• Tickets: StubHub offers ticketing options

What to watch for in Wolves vs. Bucks

It will be interesting to see how Ryan Saunders goes about defending Giannis. Clearly, he isn’t the type of player that the Wolves could simply throw, say, Robert Covington on and call it good.

To be sure, Covington will be part of the solution, but expect the Wolves to change things up frequently throughout the game, throwing the length of Jarrett Culver and tenacity of Josh Okogie at Antetokounmpo in order to give him different looks.

The Wolves haven’t played much, if any, zone defense this year, and while the Bucks seemingly have enough shooting to keep teams from trying this — they are currently No. 1 in the league in both 3-point attempts and makes per game — it wouldn’t be the worst idea to try this in order to slow Giannis down and force his teammates to win the game.

One more thing to keep an eye on: can Gorgui Dieng continue his incredible play from Saturday? The matchup against Brook and Robin Lopez is quite different than Saturday’s game in Washington, but the Wolves will need Dieng’s rim protection and rebounding all the same.

Injury Report

Neither the Bucks nor the Wolves have any injuries to report. The only player on the active roster for either team who will not be available is Towns, due to his suspension.

We’ll be back after the game with player grades and rapid reaction to the game. Enjoy!