Wolves vs. Jazz Preview, Starting Time, TV Schedule, Injury Report, Odds

Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves are back in action Saturday night in Salt Lake City, where they will face a Utah Jazz full team in tank mode.

Despite losing 11 of their last 13 games on Friday – and entering the court without Lauri Markkanen (quad bruise) and Jordan Clarkson (groin strain) – the Jazz rode the wave at home and managed to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 124-122 last night. Former Wolf Vit Krejčí tried to win the title for Quin Snyder’s group during the coach’s return to Utah, but failed to connect.

Utah will once again be without Markkanen and Clarkson, with John Collins (rest) joining them on the bench, so Minnesota needs to take advantage and put this one away early.

Speaking of homecoming, former longtime Jazz star Rudy Gobert may play Saturday night due to a left rib sprain he suffered late in the game. Tuesday’s victory 118-100 against the Los Angeles Clippers. But according to our friend Chris Hine of the Star Tribune, Gobert was not seen in uniform during the Wolves’ shooting Saturday morning.

Mike Conley will play at Delta Center, where he played for four seasons as a third wheel to Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.

The Wolves could also get back Monte Morris (left hamstring strain), who was injured landing awkwardly after a layup in the first quarter. Minnesota wins 113-111 against the Indiana Pacers last week and missed the team’s last three games. Having a few days off in Los Angeles must have certainly improved his chances of playing these two games in Utah.

Game information

• Who: Minnesota Timberwolves (45-21) at Utah Jazz (29-37)
• When: Saturday, March 16 at 8:30 p.m. CT
• Where: Delta Center – Salt Lake City, Utah
• Television: Bally Sports North (Michael Grady and Jim Petersen)
• Radio: Wolves app, iHeart Radio, KFAN 100.3 FM
• Line: Wolves -8.5 | Total: 223 (courtesy of DraftKings Sports Betting)

Injury report

Updated Saturday, March 16 at 3 p.m. CT

Minnesota

QUESTIONABLE:

• Kyle Anderson (right shoulder pain)
• Rudy Gobert (left rib sprain)
• Monte Morris (left hamstring strain)

OUT:

• Jaylen Clark (right Achilles tendon rupture rehabilitation)
• Daishen Nix (two-way contract)
• Karl-Anthony Towns (torn left meniscus)

Utah

OUT:

• Jordan Clarkson (right groin strain)
• John Collins (rest)
• Lauri Markkanen (quadruple contusion)

What to watch out for

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images

Peripheral ball containing

With Markkanen (23.1 PPG), Clarkson (17.4 PPG) and Collins (14.6 PPG) all in for this contest, Utah will be missing three of its top four scorers this season. The next two are Collin Sexton (18.2 PPG) and rookie point guard Keyonte George (12.7 PPG) – the first pick to pass on from the Gobert trade.

Sexton (20.3 PPG) and George (18.6 PPG) both played excellent basketball coming out of the All-Star break, as each player shot at least 44.7% from the floor and 40. 6% from beyond the arc while maintaining an assist. -turnover rate north of 1.75. Both players are quick to rebound, take care of the ball on drives and are capable of getting to the rim and scoring or shooting upfield for mid-range jumpers.

Forcing the ball out of both players’ hands as early as possible on the drive will be crucial. The scoring options available to head coach Will Hardy outside of his starting backcourt are very limited, as no other player active tonight has averaged double figures in the Jazz’s 10 games since the break.

Don’t be surprised if Nickeil Alexander-Walker gets the start tonight so he and Jaden McDaniels can control Utah’s guards, letting Edwards guard 6-foot-8 wing Taylor Hendricks or the rugged 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds Brice Sensabaugh. , depending on who Hardy starts. Alexandre-Walker technically started the second half of the Clippers’ game against Edwards, who was once again late getting to the floor, but was going to start the half in place of Anderson anyway.

Wolves head coach Chris Finch’s move balanced the first unit’s spacing around Gobert and allowed NAW to get into James Harden on the perimeter with McDaniels sliding over Paul George. As a result, all but one of the second half lineups were a net positive for the Timberwolves, as they kept their foot on the gas pedal for the entirety of the third and fourth quarters.

Both NAW and McDaniels have struggled with quick guards, but deploying them both out of the gates and showing length to a pair of smaller guards — especially in a game Gobert tends to miss — would be a move important to set the tone in the first of a two-game set against the Jazz.

Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

Another big place for Naz Reid

If either or both Gobert or Anderson miss this one, Naz Reid will need to increase his usage And avoid fouls at the other end of the field.

Reid has done a tremendous job improving his scoring in the absence of Karl-Anthony Towns. In six games he played without his fellow New Jersey native, Reid scored 5.5 more points (17.7 without Towns, compared to 12.2 with Towns) on just 2.2 more shots per game, and largely stayed out of trouble. The former LSU star played just 22 minutes in Tuesday’s win over the Clippers due to three fouls in the first half, the first time since Towns went down that his minutes were limited due to fouls .

This is another spot where he’ll draw a big who either doesn’t move well in space at all or doesn’t like to leave the paint on defense, going against the Jazz center rotation of Walker Kessler and Micah Potter. . Reid scored 34 points against Cleveland (including 7/11 from deep) and 25 against the Lakers (5/10 from 3), largely because of his willingness to let it rip from beyond the arc when his game did not work out. compete. Reid’s ability to put the ball on the deck is probably higher in defenses’ recognition ratio than his 41.% 3-point shooting, but his consistency in making the defense pay to give him space is which fueled such a successful rise in fifth grade. to become a legitimate candidate for Sixth Man of the Year.

At the other end of the court, Reid has to hold his own against the glass. The 24-year-old has had more than five rebounds just once since Towns went down, and is averaging just 5.2 rebounds without Towns this season, an increase of just 0.3 per game despite 6.1 additional minutes per match. McDaniels has done a good job taking over (+2.8 rebounds per night without KAT, highest on the team), but Reid needs to join him if the Wolves want to close out more stops and succeed defensively if Gobert is limited or outside.

Minnesota allowed just eight second-chance points to the Lakers when Gobert and Anderson didn’t play last weekend, so the Wolves will look to replicate that Saturday night.