The Milwaukee Bucks (11-17) open a five-game road trip against the Minnesota Timberwolves (18-10) tonight, a stretch that could very well make or break their season. After a shellacking by the Brooklyn Nets, the Bucks were better against the Toronto Raptors but still unable to get over the hump, falling 111-105. They’ll need every bit of an early Christmas miracle tonight, facing a Timberwolves team that just beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-107. History is in their favour, though, with the Bucks winners
of five of their last six matchups (and 11 of their last 14!).
Where We’re At
The Bucks have now lost four out of their last five games and, outside of the win against the Boston Celtics, there’s been very little to get excited about. The stats back it up too, with the Bucks getting progressively worse almost across the board as the season continues (per NBA.com):
While this isn’t that surprising if you’ve been watching the games—and, of course, Giannis has missed 11 already—it points to a side that has well and truly lost its rudder. There’s no wonder, then, that 87% of fans disapprove of the job Doc Rivers is doing, or that the team is going “big game hunting” to try to retool. Ironically, the recent play of Bobby Portis and Kyle Kuzma might help with the latter—across the last five, both are putting up more than 18 points per game on over 55% shooting. Keep it going, fellas.
Having reached the Western Conference Finals the past two seasons, the Timberwolves have high expectations again this year and, sitting sixth in the conference and just two wins behind the second-placed Denver Nuggets, are very much still in the hunt. In fact, the Wolves have won eight of their last 10 games, including the aforementioned victory over championship-favourites the Oklahoma City Thunder, where stud Anthony Edwards was huge on both ends down the stretch. Edwards continues to be the preeminent shooting guard in the league, averaging 28.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 3.8 APG on the season, and is well supported by five teammates—Julis Randle, Jalen McDaniels, Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, and Rudy Gobert—averaging double figures (and the maligned Bones Hyland coming to the party over the last five, putting up 12.0 PPG of his own). As such, the Wolves hold the eighth-best offensive rating on the season to go along with their 10th-rated defence.
Injury Report
For the Bucks, Taurean Prince (neck) and Giannis (calf) remain out.
For the Timberwolves, Mike Conley is questionable (right Achilles; tendinopathy).
Player To Watch
In 19 games without Kevin Porter Jr., Ryan Rollins blossomed, averaging 18.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.1 APG, and 1.5 SPG on .495/.425/.775 shooting splits. Since Porter’s return, Rollins’ numbers have dropped to 13.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5.9 APG, and 1.9 SPG on .436/.326/.727 shooting splits. Of course, correlation doesn’t mean causation, and the drop in scoring and efficiency—everything else is much the same—could very well be put down to increased opponent scouting, a shooting slump, or even reduced minutes (blowouts and foul trouble will do that). Regardless, this is a trend worth monitoring, as for both the short and long terms, the Bucks need to find a way to maximise both of their young guards. Against the Raptors, Rivers opted to bring Rollins off the bench, citing the need for fresh ball handlers against the Raptors’ ball pressure, but this put excessive pressure on Porter to create everything, and the Bucks were down 12-2 by the 9:35 mark of the first quarter—a deficit from which they could never recover. With Kuzma no longer on the injury report, it will be interesting to see if Rivers keeps the lineup from the Raptors game or reinserts Rollins. More importantly, what strings will he pull to get Rollins rollin’ again?
How To Watch
FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin at 6:00 p.m. CST.
