The Minnesota Timberwolves, on a thrilling 6-game winning streak, faced the Orlando Magic in a highly anticipated matchup. With Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle back in the lineup, bolstered by the healthy Rudy Gobert, the Timberwolves were eager to showcase their potential.
The Timberwolves displayed remarkable ball movement, showcasing their playmaking prowess. They finished with 26 assists, compared to the Magic’s 18, hinting at the team’s true capabilities when finding cutting players in space. However, the Timberwolves’ momentum was challenged by the exceptional performance of Orlando’s Paolo Banchero.
Banchero, a young star, finished with an impressive 43 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists. He showcased his scoring prowess, sinking tough contested shots despite elite defenders. The Timberwolves found themselves trailing by 11 points, but Donte DiVincenzo’s electrifying entrance breathed new life into the team.
DiVincenzo’s monster block electrified the crowd and his teammates, and he finished with 14 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists. His hustle and defense inspired his teammates, who rallied to overcome the deficit.
Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards combined for 50 points, capitalizing on the space created by the defense. As Coach Finch had emphasized, everyone understands their roles on the team. Although they didn’t know their roles at the start of the season, they’ve come a long way and are now poised to face the Utah Jazz on Sunday.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, on a thrilling 6-game winning streak, faced the Orlando Magic in a highly anticipated matchup. With Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle back in the lineup, bolstered by the healthy Rudy Gobert, the Timberwolves were eager to showcase their potential.
The Timberwolves displayed remarkable ball movement, showcasing their playmaking prowess. They finished with 26 assists, compared to the Magic’s 18, hinting at the team’s true capabilities when finding cutting players in space. However, the Timberwolves’ momentum was challenged by the exceptional performance of Orlando’s Paolo Banchero.
Banchero, a young star, finished with an impressive 43 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists. He showcased his scoring prowess, sinking tough contested shots despite elite defenders. The Timberwolves found themselves trailing by 11 points, but Donte DiVincenzo’s electrifying entrance breathed new life into the team.
DiVincenzo’s monster block electrified the crowd and his teammates, and he finished with 14 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists. His hustle and defense inspired his teammates, who rallied to overcome the deficit.
Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards combined for 50 points, capitalizing on the space created by the defense. As Coach Finch had emphasized, everyone understands their roles on the team. Although they didn’t know their roles at the start of the season, they’ve come a long way and are now poised to face the Utah Jazz on Sunday.
The Minnesota Timberwolves got some great news pregame as they found out that Rudy Gobert would be available. Rudy has been nursing an back injury and his return will help big time in the front court defensively.
This was one of those games that Minnesota can overlook but they were locked in and focused as they look an early lead and never looked back. The Timberwolves had 7 scorers in double figures and have been playing with a well balanced attack as of late. Randle and DiVincenzo back in the lineup has helped this team out tremendously as Anthony Edwards can be able to play within the game and do so much more defensively.
The Spurs were trailing the whole game but the one bright spot they had was Stephon Castle this young man has a bright future no wonder the Spurs didn’t want to add him in the Fox trade. Tonight Castle was able to score inside and out but was always putting pressure on the Timberwolves defense.
Anthony Edwards finished with 25 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists as the Timberwolves continue to stack wins up at the right time.
The 76ers are coming into Minnesota fresh from shutting down Joel Embiid for the remainder of the season. On the flip side, the Minnesota Timberwolves are just now getting their players back healthy, as Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo are back in the lineup now.
The 76ers came out on a mission as Quentin Grimes was playing out of this world against the Timberwolves. It seemed as though anything that Grimes put up was going in, and he was able to keep the 76ers in the game. Grimes was attacking the basket and knocked down shots on missed assignments by the Timberwolves.
The Mavericks just gave up this pure scorer in that trade, and Minnesota had no way of stopping him in the 1st half. Grimes had 20 points in the 1st half against the Timberwolves but finished the game with 30 points as the Timberwolves made the proper adjustments. It was only a matter of time before Jaden McDaniels and the rest of the 3&D guys got to him to put an end to it.
Anthony Edwards started the game attacking every chance he got, and as a result, he left the game for a bit to get his thumb looked at. Edwards was able to come back, but you can tell that the thumb was still an issue, but he was able to tough it out. One thing about Anthony Edwards is the fact that if it’s not broken, he’s going to play, and that’s what he did. On the night, Ant-Man finished with 18 points, five rebounds, and one assist.
The leading scorer for the Timberwolves tonight was Naz Reid, as he was able to finish with 23 points tonight. When Naz has his game going on both ends, it’s tough to stop this Minnesota team. Jaden McDaniels was able to showcase his elite defense against the 76ers tonight with two steals & 4 blocks. When the Timberwolves play like they did tonight, it’s going to be a tough out in the playoffs. Nickeil Alexander-Walker was able to add in 20 points himself, as he’s been able to flourish knowing that teams are doubling Anthony and Julius.
The Timberwolves will be playing against the Charlotte Hornets tomorrow night as they look to stay in the win column.
The Oklahoma City Thunder came into this game (44-9) and looked to go into the All-Star break with 45 wins. If they were going to achieve that, they would have to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are coming off one of their worst losses all season against the Bucks. The Timberwolves have been banged up lately with no Randle, Divincenzo, and tonight no Conley/Gobert. Anthony Edwards was a game-time decision, but one thing about Ant-Man: he loves to put on a show for the fans with big matchups. It was going to be a showdown of guards in the NBA who are at the top of their game, with Anthony Edwards facing off against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Timberwolves had Anthony Edwards active and ready to go as he came out firing on all cylinders in that 1st quarter. Edwards had the three-pointer going, and he could attack the rim even against a tough defender like Lu Dort from the Thunder. It was clear that the Thunder didn’t want Anthony Edwards to be the reason they lost, as they tried double-teaming him early in the game. One of the double teams was mistimed, and it resulted in what could be the dunk of the year. Anthony Edwards turned the corner and met up with Chet Holmgren at the rim, and Ant-Man won, letting Chet know about it after the poster dunk. It’s plays like that dunk that get this Timberwolves team going, and the offense was flowing after the impact of the dunk with momentum. The Timberwolves were able to go on a 22-9 run after the dunk and things started to shift in Minnesota’s way. The main player from Minnesota who was able to get his offense going in this one was Naz Reid. It seemed as though the Thunder had no answer for Naz as he shot 11/18 from the field tonight. Naz was able to take advantage of the moments when OKC doubled Edwards and used his size to score inside and out on mismatches. Naz Reid was able to show up big time in the rebounding department as he was able to step up big time with Rudy Gobert not in action tonight. Naz was able to grab a season-high 14 rebounds tonight against the Thunder, and he was able to start some fast breaks with his rebounds that caught the Thunder off guard. Naz Reid was spectacular in his performance as he was about to lead Minnesota in scoring with 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 assists. The Big 3 of Anthony, Naz, and Jaden have been able to give this team a spark this last month, and all three of them were able to score 20+ points tonight.
Anthony Edwards will always be able to get his shot, but we have seen Jaden McDaniels get the chance to open up his game and showcase his shot-making ability as well. Jaden was able to shoot 50% from the field on 9/18 and was able to defend Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tonight to the best of his abilities. It’s impressive that Jaden’s able to score consistently and defend consistently, something that is extremely rare in the NBA. Anthony Edwards had a quiet 23 points, but that was because his team showed up in a big way against the Thunder tonight. Terrence Shannon Jr had his number called tonight, and he didn’t disappoint on both ends. Shannon Jr gave this team a spark when they needed it against OKC, and he was able to make big-time hustle plays. Shannon Jr finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds but made an impact all over the floor as he’s making the best of every chance his number is called. The Timberwolves had a game plan tonight, and they executed it because they made things tough on the front runner for MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander all night with different defenders.
The two Thunder players that put the team on their backs were the All-Stars SGA and Jalen Williams, as they both combined for 44 of the 101 points. The Thunder had moments where they could have gotten close, but every single time, the Timberwolves responded. Both these teams will play each other a couple of times coming out of the All-Star break, so it should be interesting to see how this matchup looks for the remainder of the season.
Jimmy Butler has been an enigma since he entered the NBA from Maquette in 2011. From the Bulls to the Timberwolves to Philadelphia, and now his tenure in Miami, Butler has experienced success but has also brought drama to every franchise he has played for.
Since signing as a free agent in 2019, Butler, 35,has taken the Heat to two NBA finals, coming up short in both, but also notched two all-star selections, an All-NBA Second Team selection in 2023, All-NBA Third Team selections in 2020 and 2021, and an NBA steals leader title in 2021.
Talent has never been Butler’s issue, but he no longer has the locker room in Miami or a desire to be there. He will most certainly be dealt before Thursday’s deadline. The question is who will land him next.
Butler has used his no-trade clause to turn down a trade to join Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in exchange for former all-star Andrew Wiggins and multiple first-round picks. If it were up to Jimmy, he would join Devin Booker on the Phoenix Suns.
This may result in a three-way trade between the Warriors, Heat, and Suns that would get Butler what he wants and send future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant back to Golden State. The main issue is former all-star Bradley Beal’s contract. With him making over $50 million as a player best suited to come off the bench, it is not feasible for any team trying to make a playoff run. Don’t be surprised if a team with a losing record is involved in taking on Beal’s contract and buying him out to facilitate the trade.
Landing Kevin Durant would help Golden State get themselves into the playoff picture. Miami would get a better return for Butler, setting themselves up better for the future built around Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. The Suns would be interesting to watch. As they are the last team in the play-in tournament right now, how will rearranging their roster impact their playoff hopes?
Expect to see Butler in a new city by the weekend and get ready for his trade’s impact on the entire league.
