Minnesota Timberwolves vs. San Antonio Spurs: Odds, injuries, what to watch for

The Minnesota Timberwolves are on the second night of a back-to-back and are looking for just their second two-game winning streak so far this season.

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. San Antonio Spurs: Odds, injuries, what to watch for

The Wolves stand at 6-9, and if we throw out the clunker against the Clippers last Saturday, they’ve played generally solid basketball over the past 10 days or so.

Then again, that clunker was on the back-half of the only back-to-back set the Wolves have had to this point. Thursday night against the San Antonio Spurs is the second such set.

The Wolves played the defending Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns to a one-possession loss on Monday, and despite a rough first half on Wednesday against the Sacramento Kings, Minnesota rode strong second-half performances from their Big Three to a 10-point win.

The Spurs are just 4-10 this season, although they’ve played a difficult schedule to this point. San Antonio has lost to the Dallas Mavericks three times and the Los Angeles Lakers twice. Three of their four wins have come against bottom-barrel teams: twice against the Orlando Magic and once over the Kings. They’ve also beaten the Milwaukee Bucks, who are hovering around the .500 mark.

All that to say, this is a winnable game for the Timberwolves, despite playing on the second leg of a back-to-back.

Minnesota Timberwolves odds vs. San Antonio Spurs

According to WynnBet, the Wolves are two-point favorites at home against the Spurs, despite tipping off twice in 24 hours. Surely, the Spurs’ three-game losing streak and the continued absence of big man Jakob Poeltl play into that line.

TV and streaming info for Minnesota Timberwolves vs. San Antonio Spurs

• Tip-off: 7:00 CT
• Television: Bally Sports North
• Radio: 830 WCCO
• Stream: Fubo.tv offers streaming options

What to watch for in Minnesota Timberwolves vs. San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs may be only 4-10, but they’ve played a tough schedule, and for the most part, they’ve played said schedule, well, tough.

They’ve had single-digit losses to the Lakers (twice) and Mavericks (twice), and have only been blown out twice this season, once to the Indiana Pacers and once to the Mavs.

The Spurs’ defense is No. 12 in the league according to Basketball-Reference. A big part of that is defending without fouling; San Antonio only allows .147 free throws per field goal attempt, which is the third-best mark in the league. They’re middle-of-the-pack when it comes to defensive rebounding and opponent’s 3-point shooting percentage.

Offensively, despite moving past the days of LaMarcus Aldridge and Demar Derozan, the Spurs are still No. 29 in 3-point attempts per game and dead-last in made 3-point shots. Devin Vassell and Doug McDermott are the two names to look out for here, as both starters are making over 40 percent of their long-range attempts.

Dejounte Murray and Keldon Johnson are the Spurs’ most dangerous scorers, and while Derrick White has been something of a disappointment so far this season, he may be the Spurs’ most promising young player. Former Wolf Thaddeus Young has been an effective reserve for Gregg Popovich’s squad to this point in the season as well.

Expect the Spurs to buck the recent trends of putting their power forwards on Towns and having the center guard Jarred Vanderbilt; McDermott isn’t about to slow down KAT. Drew Eubanks, who is filling in for the injured Jakob Poeltl, will almost certainly draw the assignment on Towns.

Injury report for Minnesota Timberwolves vs. San Antonio Spurs

The Wolves have listed both Josh Okogie (back) and Naz Reid (foot) as questionable. Okogie played Monday and sat out Wednesday while Reid missed Monday’s game and hobbled through 13 minutes during Wednesday’s win over the Kings.

The Spurs are without Poeltl. Forward Zach Collins hasn’t played yet this year and will remain out until the end of the calendar year.

We’ll be back after the game with player grades. Enjoy Thursday night basketball, and here’s to 6-9!