2 games, 2 cities, 2 bad. Timberwolves vs Trail Blazers

Back-to-backs remain the bane of the Minnesota Timberwolves so far this season. And when those back-to-backs combine with travel time from one city to another, well, that’s not something that these Timberwolves have shown the capacity to overcome just yet.

Ah, but the Timberwolves continued to show some positive signs. In a game without Karl-Anthony Towns, Taurean Prince, or Jordan McLaughlin, the Timberwolves held a thin halftime lead, and were within two points as late as four minutes on the game clock.

If you need a good loss, a game with the Timberwolves playing hard and simply not making those head-slapping errors, this was one that fit that category. The Timberwolves were the more accurate shooters, both from the floor and from the perimeter. The Timberwolves score more points in the paint than the Portland Trail Blazers. The Timberwolves committed fewer fouls, had twice as many steals as their opponents, and even had more assists.

So how did the Trail Blazers win this one? Rebounds.

Blazers’ board work too much for weary Wolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves got nine rebounds from Rudy Gobert and another 7 rebounds from Kyle Anderson. That was hardly a matter for the Portland Trail Blazers who got 15 rebounds from C Jusuf Nurkic, eight rebounds from SG Josh Hart, and seven rebounds from SF Jeremy Grant. The telling tale of the game was offensive rebounds, where the Blazers missed, got the offensive rebound with a reset clock, and scored on the second (or third) attempt.

The Timberwolves backcourt duo put up some impressive numbers, and continue to add evidence to the assertion that they should be in the discussions for the Top-5 NBA Backcourts of the season:

PG D’Angelo Russell  9/15 FG 24 Pts. 4/5 3PTs, 1 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Stl
SG Anthony Edwards 10/20  FG 26 Pts. 4/8 3PTs, 6 Reb 7 Ast 2 Stl

But they were facing a proud and productive backcourt duo in this one who put up even more impressive numbers:

PG Damien Lillard  9/22 FG 36 Pts. 3/11 3PTs, 3 Reb, 8 Ast, 2 Stl
SG Anfernee Simons 13/22  FG 31 Pts. 5/10 3PTs, 3 Reb 1 Ast 0 Stl

The Portland Trail Blazers took far more shots than the Minnesota Timberwolves because they had a distinct and undeniable advantage at rebounding in this one. The two teams will have a chance to rest, regroup and face off again on Monday, December 12, 2022, at 9:00 pm CT.

Will there be a different outcome?  I would not bet against it.