The Minnesota Timberwolves return home to take on a Utah Jazz team in search of a rhythm. Minnesota is riding a three-game win streak and has found their cadence on defense while getting up the court quickly on offense. This marks the start of eight straight games in Minnesota after a grueling first two and a half weeks of the season. Hopefully, the fans at Target Center can match the Wolves’ tempo.
Game Info
- Who: Minnesota Timberwolves (7-3) vs. Utah Jazz(1-8)
- When: Sunday, November 8th at 7:00 PM CT
- Where: Target Center – Minneapolis, MN
- Local TV: DAZN-MN, KJZZ, Jazz+
- Radio: 830 WCCO
Take What’s Given
The promise of this Jazz team has yet to come to fruition. Utah has won only one game and is bad. They
are 29th in offensive rating and 23rd in defensive rating. They are a very young team. The starting veterans they do have are injured.
They are sloppy with the basketball and give it away over 17 times a game on average. Meanwhile, the Wolves boast a top-three defense and are top-10 in generating turnovers.
Ayo Dosunmu has been living by his Jet Lifemantra. He is also forcing the most steals of his career. When he pokes the ball away or sees any semblance of open floor, he is breaking the sound barrier on the way to the hoop.
The Wolves lost Joan Beringer for the latter half of the game against the New Orleans Pelicans and reportedly suffered a nasal fracture. Trey Lyles did his admirable best to hold down the center spot as Rudy Gobert sat, but he doesn’t offer the same chaotic disruption on the boards.
There is potential for Joan to return against the Jazz wearing a protective mask. Should Beringer miss this game, even with the Jazz front court depleted, the Wolves will struggle to get necessary extra possessions.
Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, and TJ Shannon Jr. are all still listed as out.
Continuing to lead the attack with all those absences is LaMelo Ball, who has found his shot and has scored 20 or more points in four of the last five games. He has hit shots from deep and at the rim. In the Wolves’ most recent bout, he turned around and took Zion Williamson to the cup again and again. He has the handle and the threat to score from anywhere, putting any of the Jazz defenders in compromising positions. His production will be key once again.
Off Key
The Jazz starting guards Keyonte George and second-overall-pick Darryn Peterson have yet to discover harmony and sound more like H. John Benjamin’s Jazz Daredevil album than anything you might find on Bourbon St, the Jazz’ original home (and where they should still be if we’re being honest).
Each guard takes turns looking for their own shot when sharing the court, often in the midrange. Seeing this, head coach Will Hardy has turned to splitting up the duo with a mix of starters and bench players.
The Jazz do rebound the ball well, at least on defense. Currently, they are top five in grabbing defensive boards but struggle mightily to recover their own misses. Going against a Wolves team hungry to finish plays or get another chance at a shot, they may find themselves in an early hole.
Minnesota has impressed with their second efforts for offensive rebounds and has managed to maintain the same aggression late into the game when their opponents look tired while the Wolves look ravenous.
In the years since trading Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Rudy Gobert to the Wolves, the Jazz have worked, almost conspiratorially, to lose games and improve their lottery odds. Tanking can lead to selecting a franchise-altering star. It can also lead to a pernicious culture of bad habits, the sort of habits that produce gaudy stats and few wins.
Porous Perimeter
Utah’s guards and wings possess the ability to generate their own shot but offer little resistance on the other side of the ball. When a team does puncture their limited-effort defense, they offer even less resistance at the rim.
Both Jazz center options, former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkić, from last year’s team are injured. In their stead are journeymen bigs Jaxson Hayes and Mo Bamba.
Speaking of journeymen, Josh Okogie returns to Minnesota as Utah’s best point-of-attack defender. Alongside him, second-year forward Ace Bailey has held his own on defense as he waits for one of his point guards to include him on offense. If either Okogie or Ace gets pulled into help, Jonathan Kuminga and Jaden McDaniels will feast on open looks.
Prediction
The Timberwolves get out on the fast break and leave the Jazz chasing Minnesota’s tempo. The Target Center becomes more raucous as the home team continues to build their lead. Joan Beringer returns with a Phantom of the Opera mask and makes Mo Bamba look like Less Bamba. Isaiah Evans hits two threes in garbage time to balloon the lead back to 20+.
Our blogging buddies are over at SLC Dunk. Be welcoming to our friends with their own kind of funk!
