Despite Gobert’s double-double, Wolves v. Blazers 2nd verse same as 1st

The Minnesota Timberwolves were leading at halftime in the first contest against the Portland Trail Blazers by a score of 66-65. But that was then, this is now. The Timberwolves have not allowed the Trail Blazers to rebound at will in this one. But that is not to say that these Timberwolves are not finding new ways to struggle.

The Timberwolves are trailing at halftime. But their three out of eight shots made from the foul line have left easy points off the scoreboard for the Timberwolves.

There are promising signs in this one. The Timberwolves’ bench is much more active in this game. The Timberwolves continue to score from the perimeter, never a given. But the Timberwolves have no answer for Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damien Lillard, who has shot an eye-popping eight of ten from three-point range and propelled his game-leading scoring at 27 points at halftime.

The Timberwolves have countered with a double-double from center Rudy Gobert (10 points, 15 rebounds) and solid scoring from point guard D’Angelo Russell (15 points). The Timberwolves’ accuracy from the perimeter has improved (four of ten shooting for 40 percent), but the team has accomplished a higher percentage by not shooting, which can be counterproductive to winning games.

Timberwolves SG Anthony Edwards has been struggling in the rematch. He has only scored seven points in the first half of this one, and that simply is nowhere near where he needs to be for the team to have a real shot of winning. And his +/- rating in this one is (-17), a horrific rating for one of the key players on the Timberwolves roster.

Some games are competitive. Some games are not. The Minnesota Timberwolves fell tired already in this one, and that’s not a good turn at halftime.

Halftime Score