Timberwolves at Grizzlies: Odds, injuries, and what to watch for

The Minnesota Timberwolves will have Karl-Anthony Towns back in the fold as they head to Memphis to take on the struggling Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday evening.

The one week anniversary of Karl-Anthony Towns vs. Joel Embiid will also mark Towns’ first appearance on the court for the Minnesota Timberwolves since he exited the tilt against the 76ers following his ejection.

The Wolves went 1-1 in Towns’ absence, dominating the Washington Wizards by 22 points on the road and being dominated by the Milwaukee Bucks in a 28-point loss on Monday at Target Center.

While Wednesday’s game at Memphis is absolutely winnable — the Grizzlies have the league’s worst point differential at -11.8 and are just 1-5 on the season — it will be interesting to see how Towns works himself back into the offense.

Head coach Ryan Saunders alluded to some concerns about a potentially over-amped Towns against the Grizzlies. From Kyle Ratke at Timberwolves.com:

"There won’t be too much of an adjustment made getting Towns back up to speed.“There’s been ongoing conversations,” Saunders said. “He’s been really engaged for these games. . . He was good. We’re glad he’s playing, though. We’ll have conversations, obviously, about integrating and not doing too much necessarily, but it’s nothing I’m concerned about.”"

Expect Towns to be … beyond ready to go for this one.

Timberwolves odds against the Grizzlies

• Favorite: Wolves (-5.5)
• Over/under: 226
• Moneyline: -187 Minnesota/+167 Memphis
• 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. Memphis Grizzlies

• 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. Grizzlies

The backup spot behind Towns would seem to be a bit in flux. With KAT out of the lineup, Gorgui Dieng started and filled in admirably with Noah Vonleh and Jordan Bell splitting the backup minutes almost evenly.

Before Towns’ suspension, neither Dieng nor Bell were in the regular rotation. Will Saunders go back to Vonleh as the only other big man in the rotation or will Bell and/or Dieng have a role?

Jaren Jackson is likely to play after missing Monday’s game with a knee injury, which could make it more likely that we see either Bell or Dieng on the floor in this one.

The point guard rotation is something else to keep an eye on for the Wolves, as Jeff Teague is sick and Shabazz Napier is unlikely to play with a hamstring injury.

Injury Report

The Grizzlies will be without Grayson Allen, who will miss his second consecutive game with an ankle injury. Both Jackson and Jae Crowder are listed as probable.

The Wolves have Napier listed as doubtful due to a hamstring strain suffered near the end of Monday’s loss to Milwaukee. Teague (illness) and Bell (shoulder) are both listed as questionable.

Teague and Napier are the only true point guards on the roster, which means that two-way player Jordan McLaughlin is on his way to the team and second-round pick Jaylen Nowell has also been called up from the G League.

Stay tuned to Dunking With Wolves following the game for some quick reaction and player grades.