Suddenly, Minnesota Timberwolves 2 OKC games are a big deal

The Minnesota Timberwolves open twice this season against the Oklahoma City Thunder in their first three games. While the Timberwolves were likely looking at those two games as very winnable, the latest trade by the Thunder and the Houston Rockets may have improved the Timberwolves’ chances even more.

In a surprising late trade involving eight players, the Thunder and Rockets were cited as taking part in a multiplayer trade that was a bit of a shock. Not for the names of players involved, but in the wholesale swap of so many players who are expected to have primarily rotational roles on their new teams.

The Thunder are trading away 6-foot-9 Derrick Favors, 6-foot-5 Ty Jerome, 6-foot-7 Moe Harkless, and 6-foot-4 Theo Maledon, and adding 6-foot-5 David Nwaba, 6-foot-5 Sterling Brown, 6-foot-0 Trey Burke, and 6-foot-9 Marquese Chriss.

And that means that the Minnesota Timberwolves appear to have a huge size advantage in those games (pun intended):

At the center, the Thunder have:

Aleksej Pokusevaki 7-foot-0 190-pounds
Mike Muscala 6-foot-10 240-pounds

While at power forward, the Thunder have:

Darius Bazley 6-foot-8 208-pounds
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl 6-foot-9 230-pounds
Jaylin Williams 6-foot-6 195-pounds
Marquese Chriss 6-foot-9 240-pounds

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ starting center is 7-foot-1 258-pound Rudy Gobert.
The Timberwolves starting power forward is 6-foot-11 248-pound Karl-Anthony Towns.

The size advantage of the Timberwolves in those two games is pretty significant, literally. Whether intentional or not, it appears as though the Thunder have painted themselves into a small ball roster. Even if the Thunder go with their biggest players, the Timberwolves will have three inches and 76 pounds on the Thunder front court.

That’s why the size difference between the Timberwolves and the Thunder is a pretty big deal.