The Minnesota Timberwolves are officially at the halfway point of their NBA season and, as expected, it really hasn't been pretty for the most part. While we've seen the emergence of Kevin Love as a true NBA superstar. . .he leads the Wolves in scoring and rebounding with 21.2 points and 15.7 rebounds per game. . .the Timberwolves have only managed to taste victory in ten of their first 41 games this season.
In what can only be classed as bit of strange scheduling, the Timberwolves only have two games this week, followed by an extended break.
The first game of the Wolves' "week," such as it is, will take place tonight in Portland as the Timberwolves will head out west to take on the Portland Trail Blazers. The Trail Blazers are currently sitting in fourth place in the Northwest Division, and the Timberwolves reside in fifth place. However, Portland's record of 21-20 is a full 11 games better than Minnesota's 10-31 mark, so Portland doesn't have to worry about heading for the basement any time soon. These two teams have gotten together twice already this season, with both games resulting in Portland victories. The Trail Blazers won 107-102 in Portland back on December 17, and a 108-98 win at the Target Center on January 7. Tip-off for this one will be a late one, 9:00 PM Central time, and the game can be seen on Fox Sports North. You can also listen to the action on KFAN-AM 1130.
On Wednesday, the Wolves will slide down the West Coast to Los Angeles to do battle with Blake Griffin and the Clippers at the Staples Center. The Clippers currently have a record of 14-25, good for fourth place in the NBA's Pacific Division. These two teams have also played each other twice this season already, and the results have been a split. Minnesota squeaked out a 113-111 victory at the Target Center on November 17, and the Clippers thumped the Timberwolves 113-90 in their previous trip to Los Angeles this season. Tip-off for this one is going to be even later, with things getting started at 9:30 PM Central time, and you can also watch the game on Fox Sports North or listen to it on KFAN-AM 1130.
And that's officially it for the week, folks. After the game with the Clippers, the Wolves' next game will be on January 24, which makes it part of next week's preview, and not this week's. If you can stay up late and follow this week's action, please do so.