Connect with us

Basketball

OKC Thunder vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: The top West All-Stars battle it out in the North Star State

After their massive comeback victory against the Miami Heat Wednesday night 115-101, the Oklahoma City Thunder now begin their three-game roadtrip, with the first game coming against seventh-ranked Timberwolves.

With this game being the first of three total matchups in the span of ten days, these two teams are going to find out what one another are truly made of.

Time and Location

The OKC Thunder will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Target Center today, Feb. 13, at 8:30 PM EST/7:30 PM CST as well as on TNT.

Lineups

For the Thunder, this should be their potential starters:

As for the Timberwolves, this might be their starting unit:

Position: Name: Number:
Point Guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker 9
Shooting Guard Anthony Edwards 5
Small Forward Jaden McDaniels 3
Power Forward Naz Reid 11
Center Rudy Gobert 27

Injuries

For Oklahoma City, Chet Holmgren is listed as day-to-day due to rest. Cason Wallace (shoulder), Ousmane Dieng (calf), Ajay Mitchell (toe), and Nikola Topic (ACL) are all out.

And for Minnesota, Mike Conley (finger), Julius Randle (groin), Donte DiVincenzo (toe), and Jesse Edwards (ankle) are all listed as out for tonight’s matchup.

What to know

The last time these two teams faced off was back on New Years Eve where OKC beat the Wolves, 113-105. Headed by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s crazy 40 points and four steals, Minnesota had no answer for the potential MVP.

But what truly hurt the Timberwolves was the Thunder’s intensity on the defensive end. OKC ended the game with 16 steals and forced 23 total turnovers. Despite Minnesota shooting better from the field overall, they could not win the possession battle.

For Oklahoma City, that is exactly what they are going to have to rely on to win their second matchup of the season. Despite being down by over 20 points to Miami Wednesday night, they were able to win that game due to their stifling defense. Only allowing eight total points in the fourth that game, the Thunder will need to keep up that same defensive pressure in order to win their eight straight game.

 

 

MORE THUNDER CONTENT:

Shannon Sharpe of ESPN’s First Take gives his blasphemous take on OKC Thunder

OKC Thunder trade second-round draft picks with Charlotte Hornets

How does the Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis blockbuster trade impact the OKC Thunder

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Must See

More in Basketball