The Minnesota Timberwolves head to Salt Lake City needing a win as they try to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the young season.
The Minnesota Timberwolves lost two home games in a 48-hour span this weekend, and they’re in need of a major bounce-bask as they head into a home-and-home series against the Utah Jazz.
The Wolves are now 7-6 on the season as they take on the 8-4 Jazz, who also happen to be a perfect 6-0 at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Much of Monday’s game will hinge on the availability of a pair of Wolves wings in Andrew Wiggins and Josh Okogie. Wiggins missed both Friday and Saturday due to personal reasons and is now listed as doubtful for Monday’s game due to illness. Okogie was out with knee soreness on Saturday and is questionable against the Jazz.
Josh Okogie went through shootaround, Wolves will see how he is for tonight. Andrew Wiggins was not here in Utah, but Ryan Saunders didn't completely shut the door on him playing tonight. (Which would entail Wiggins catching a flight in the next few hours)
— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) November 18, 2019
The Jazz have struggled on offense thus far this season and have relied on their defense, anchored by Rudy Gobert and the strong wing duo of Donovan Mitchell, Royce O’Neal, and Bojan Bogdanovic. Mitchell and O’Neal have been especially strong when it comes to limiting opposing guards and forwards, and a Wiggins-less Wolves team will likely struggle to make an offensive impact once again on Monday.
Timberwolves odds against the Jazz
- Favorite: Jazz (-10)
- Over/under: 219
- Moneyline: -500 Utah/+350 Minnesota
- Odds courtesy of The Action Network. Displayed odds current as of Monday at 2:00 p.m. CT.
Tickets, TV and streaming info for Timberwolves at Jazz
- Television: Fox Sports North
- Radio: 830 WCCO
- Stream: Fubo.tv offers streaming options
- Tickets: StubHub offers ticketing options
What to watch for in Wolves at Jazz
The Timberwolves’ outside shooting will once again be under the microscope. The Wolves remain in the top three in the NBA in 3-point attempts per game, and the Jazz have an outstanding defense when it comes to limiting opponent 3-pointers.
Minnesota isn’t going to stop launching deep threes, so that simply means that if they’re going to have a chance in this game then they’ll need to make every single open jump-shot attempt that they get, because there won’t be many opportunities.
Additionally, the Jazz have struggled to rebound the ball consistently outside of Gobert, and especially since Ed Davis has been out due to injury. The Wolves have been decidedly up and down in that category, and they’ll need to crash the glass even harder if both Wiggins and Okogie miss the game.
Injury Report
Utah has been missing Davis for a couple of weeks and won’t have him back until early-to-mid December, but outside of that they’re relatively healthy.
The Wolves won’t have Shabazz Napier once again (hamstring), and Wiggins appears unlikely to play. Okogie is officially questionable with a sore knee.
We’ll be back after Wolves-Jazz with player grades. Enjoy the game!