We made it folks. It’s been 144 days since the last time we saw the Minnesota Timberwolves play basketball. A lot has happened in the past four months. New faces. New threads. New voices. Hell, even (technically) new owners! In what figures to be a wild season, we can finally kick off our first official game thread of the season.
Commence the jiggling!
Game Info
- Who: Minnesota Timberwolves (0-0) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (0-0)
- When: Monday, October 5 at 7:00 PM CT
- Where: Fiserv Forum — Milwaukee, WI
- National TV: DAZN-MIN
What to Watch For
Ant-Man and the Wasp
It feels as though most pundits and fans believe the pairing of Anthony Edwards with LaMelo Ball is either going to be amazing, or a disaster. No in between.
Either way, I believe it’ll be spectacular in fashion. Like “Wow, look at that chariot with flames trailing it!” or “Wow, look at the speed of that dumpster fire flying down the street!”
The shot selection and usage will be fascinating to track. Both were top 20 in regular season usage percentage according to NBA.com. It’s unlikely to stay that way this season. How will Ant perform off-the-ball? Can LaMelo even exist off-the-ball?
The way head coach Chris Finch manages the two-man pairing will also be something to keep your eyes on. Will he platoon swap them as a duo? Or will he try to keep one of them on the court at all times? Some believe he’s already alluded to the former. There’s certainly many storylines to follow.
What Will Rudy Look Like?
You just can’t take your eyes off it, can you? That goatee is burned into your mind and there’s nothing you can do about it.
If you’re able to avert your eyes from that for just a second, then you’ll definitely want to watch how Rudy Gobert will function on the court as the lone “true big” in the starting lineup for the first time since his Utah Jazz days. A lot has been made about how much LaMelo will unlock Rudy on the offensive end of the court, but that’ll likely take some time. My guess is that they will try to get that first lob connection early, but what happens from there will be interesting.
Will it look like jamming a round peg into a square hole? Or will it be smooth like water?
Additionally, both the players and coaching staff have publicly mentioned that they expect to run a lot. Way more than last year. According to NBA.com statistics, the Wolves were 12th in transition frequency on offense last season, so how much higher will we see that rank climb? Rudy isn’t a spring chicken, but he also isn’t Luka Garza (respectfully). When he’s alongside the starters, it’ll be intriguing to see if he’s left behind as the runt of the litter in transition, or if he’ll glide alongside them.
Prediction
Wolves struggle to stop Tyler Herro and Ryan Rollins jumpers early in the game, but that small oasis of hope for Milwaukee quickly dissipates once the Wolves bench comes in. Twin Turbos and TJ Shannon keep running the ball down the middle and build a 20-point lead by halftime. Norchad Omier, the first Nicaraguan player in the NBA, will have a double-double in less than 10 minutes of play.
Wolves win, 107-94.
Our blogging buddies will be over at Brew Hoop. Be nice. Wait, aren’t we technically the Bucks blog?
Editor’s Note: For those of you who have been using the SB Nation app, you’ll start seeing our game threads pop up on a button called “Game Chat” at the bottom of your screen. This makes it easier for those of you who enjoy the live game threads to find where to go.
This is by no means a plug for you to ti use the app if you don’t want. You can continue participating from your desktop/mobile browser as usual.
