In the first full week of 2020, the Timberwolves went 2-2. Not exactly an inspiring week (especially considering one of the losses was to the young Grizzlies), but not too bad considering that Karl-Anthony Towns is still out with an injury. Treading water.
January 5, 2020: MN 118, Cavaliers 103
In the return of Andrew Wiggins from injury, the Wolves took care of business and beat a team that they should beat (not always the case). Wiggins turned in a limited scoring performance (15 points), but did make up for it with a nice 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Gorgui Dieng was the real star of the night for the squad, tallying 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists. Dieng has played well in KAT's absence, and it almost makes you see how someone gave him the albatross of a contract that he has. Jarrett Culver's recent encouraging play continued in this one, as he shot over 50% (including 2-4 on threes) and scored 14 points to go along with a stuffed box score (3 boards, 3 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks).
January 7, 2020: MN 112, Grizzlies 119
Against one of their chief rivals for the 8th seed in the Western Conference playoffs, the Timberwolves struggled to bottle up the young trio of Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Dillon Brooks. Andrew Wiggins once again struggled to score, only getting 15 points, but Jarrett Culver turned in perhaps his best performance as a pro, scoring 24 points on 8-11 shooting (3-5 from distance) along with 5 rebounds and 2 steals. The recent injury bug that has hit the Wolves has definitely been beneficial to the young guard's development.
January 9, 2020: MN 116, Trail Blazers 102
In another game against competition for the 8 seed, the Wolves took the game over early and never let up. The outcome of this game was never really in doubt, and Andrew Wiggins led the team with an excellent performance. He turned in 23 points on 9-15 shooting, as well as a team-high 8 assists. Another bright spot was the team's defense, limiting Portland's big three of Lillard, McCollum, and Anthony to only 37.5% shooting from the floor.
January 11, 2020: MN 109, Rockets 139
The nice thing I said about the team defense in the Trail Blazers game does not apply to this one. Not going to win many games when allowing 139 points. That said, the Rockets are one of the top teams in the league, and a win was definitely not expected for the Wolves. Basically nobody played well for the Timberwolves, although Jarrett Culver did shoot 3-6 on threes and tack on team-leading rebound (8) and assist (5) totals.
All in all, this week was actually fairly encouraging for the Wolves. Going .500 without their best player is nothing to be ashamed of, and if they can keep doing that they will be in excellent position to move up in the crowded standings when KAT returns. Furthermore, this week was very encouraging for Jarrett Culver fans, as he shot the ball very well in three of the four games and seems to be developing into a good all-around player.
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