The Minnesota Timberwolves are on a season-best five-game winning streak. At 15-8, they are now a season-high seven games over .500. Yes, the schedule hasn’t always been all that challenging, but Minnesota has mostly done its job against teams it should beat.
It wasn’t too long ago that the Timberwolves blew two leads in back-to-back games in meltdown fashion. The first of those came against the Suns, a loss that Minnesota is hoping to avenge on Monday night. They are catching Phoenix at the right time as their star player, Devin Booker, is out with a right groin strain.
Suns shorthanded as Timberwolves look for revenge after blown loss
I hate to revisit the game on November 21 between the Timberwolves and Suns. Minnesota somehow found a way to lose a contest where they owned an eight-point lead with less than a minute left. Three turnovers and two missed free throws by Anthony Edwards opened the door for Collin Gillespie to hit a 10-foot floater for the winning bucket.
Phoenix actually made this comeback without Booker as he fouled out with about 3.5 minutes remaining. On Monday, Minnesota won’t have to see him on the court at all. The star guard left a game early against the Lakers a week ago with a groin strain. Monday will be the second game that Booker has missed since the injury, the first being a 117-98 loss to the Rockets on December 5.
A four-time All-Star, Booker is posting averages of 25.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 6.7 assists in 22 appearances this season. He is the leading scorer on a Suns team that is a surprising 13-10, a record that wasn't expected after they traded away Kevin Durant to Houston.
Timberwolves have had few long-term injuries
Not only are the Suns missing Booker on Monday, but they will also be without Jalen Green (could be missing Dillon Brooks as well, listed as questionable). Meanwhile, the Timberwolves aren’t dealing with any absences. That continues what has been an advantage for them for the majority of the season when it comes to having better health than their opponent.
The only somewhat long-term injury to a Timberwolves player to occur this year is a left foot injury sustained by Terrence Shannon Jr. That injury forced him to miss nine consecutive games in November. A right hamstring strain kept Edwards sidelined for four contests early on in the year, but he was absent for barely over a week.
Undoubtedly, being healthy over the course of an 82 game season is a massive advantage that the Timberwolves have enjoyed thus far.