After being humbled in front of their home crowd against a struggling Timberwolves squad, the Kings take their high octane, offensive attack on the road for the next seven games with their first target centering on the twin cities of Minnesota. Coming into the season with sky high expectations, due to an even higher bill to be paid for their recently acquired star center, the Timberwolves have slogged through the first half of the season trying to sort out personality and personnel fits alike, all while managing a pretty major injury to their star big, Karl-Anthony Towns. Can star-in-waiting Anthony Edwards, continue to be the engine that makes the Timberwolves move? Will D’Angelo Russell’s icy cold veins (and ego) survive the trade deadline another year in hot seat of the otherwise frozen north? Will Tim Maxwell be able to resist gushing over Naz Reid for more than a few minutes tonight?
Let’s talk Kings basketball!
When: Saturday, January 28th, 5:00 PM PT
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
TV: NBC Sports California (fingers crossed!)
Radio: Sactown Sports 1140
For Your Consideration
Ant-Man and the Washed: I don’t think I need to tell you this, but the Timberwolves are a team on the edge right now, and that makes me incredibly fearful of them. Yes, Karl-Anthony Towns has had a disaster of a season from a physical stand point (starting the season off dropping 20 pounds due to a mystery illness and then ripping open your calf muscle in November is never great), and yes, the Wolves have had every skeptical NBA eye on Earth trained on them since Tim Connelly absolutely wrecked the trade market by sending a load of picks for Rudy Gobert so large it would make Billy King blush, AND YES, the team has had four three game losing streaks and a six gamer as well through just 51 games this season… but for all the drama, all the memeage of the Wolves demise, all the ugly basketball they’ve played this year – the Wolves are in 8th place in the West, have won four of their last five games and ten of fourteen in January and have all the right pieces to embarass a Kings squad that’s unprepared for the team they face for the next two nights.
Through today, the Wolves are currently 12th in the NBA in scoring at 115.1 a contest and 19th in opponent points per game at… hey… lookie there, 115.1 a contest. Their offensive and defensive ratings are the exact inverse of their points per game rankings in the NBA, 19th on offense, 12th on defense. Despite employing a player whose nickname is Slow-Mo and a 7’1 center whose sprints look like they’re filmed in bullet-time, the Wolves actually play at a faster pace than the high octane offense we’ve come to see in Sacramento. While they don’t have a passer at the level of a Sabonis, the Wolves aren’t a selfish team and at 12th in the NBA in assists, they currently rock four players that average four or more assists – Russell, Edwards and Kyle Anderson will all be putting on a jersey tonight. The Wolves have electric scorers in both D’Lo and Ant-man that could go off against a lax Kings defense and they’ve got competent to good defenders all up and down their roster – they’re fourth in the NBA in both blocks and steals to boot. With Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid, the Wolves have shot blocking chops and offer different looks to throw at the Kings front court. To continue, they’ve got four players (Edwards, Anderson, Russell, McDaniels) that are all averaging over a steal a game, as well.
More than all the counting stats, more than them having talent on both ends of the court to get it done – the Wolves look like they’re playing a bit pissed off. This season is not what it was supposed to be and they know it, and KAT injuries be damned, narratives around the Gobert trade and D’Lo’s dissatisfaction and a slow start be damned – they’re turning it around at the right time. They’ve beaten the injured but dangerous duo of the Pels and Grizzlies in two of the last three nights and a win against a healthy Kings squad could mean something to a team that feels a certain type of way about a cellar-dwellar rising quickly through the standings like they did the year previous. Tim Donnelly is a good GM, Chris Finch is a good head coach, the team has very, very good talent on both sides of the ball. They are the proverbial injured dogs backed into a corner and in my mind, it’s only a matter of time before they figure it out. I just hope they wait another game or two for it to happen.
Prediction
Slow-Mo and Sabonis have a triple double off, with Anderson going for 16-11-12 and Sabonis hitting for 20-14-13. De’Aaron Fox get’s a dunk on Gobert, Anthony Edwards gets a DUNK on Trey Lyles and Fox vs D’Lo becomes a scoring duel in the fourth with Fox getting the last shot, and the win.
Kings: 124, Wolves: 122
This long trip starts with Minny twice.
Looks like Towns is still on ice.
Their deal for Gobert,
Despite the fanfare,
Made them victims of their own device!
There will be dances with wolves, and then maiming of the wolves tonight.
I fear this T-Wolves team will present the same kind of matchup problems the Raptors gave. I hope I’m wrong and the Kings go beaming.
Unlike you, I do not fear the Wolves. I think the opportunity and challenge it presents is what makes the NBA fun and enjoyable.
I am looking forward to the Gobert matchup with Sabonis. That’s one reason I enjoy the games.
Fingers crossed. Gotta bounce back from that performance against the Raptors.
Rudy Gobert and his brother should play for the Grizzlies, so that the fans can chant:
“GOBERTS, GO!”
I hope someday the NBA fixes all of these names. New Orleans should be the Jazz. How about the Utah Salt Lakers? Los Angeles Wannabe Influencers Making Stupid Tik Tok Videos To Find Meaning In Their Lives?
And for this team we are playing tonight, how about the Minneapolis Peanuts, where Sparky Shulz grew up.
Also, San Francisco Warriors !
Sacramento Governors?
San Francisco I am so full of my self I could just shitters.
This is nuts.
https://twitter.com/Y0Leo/status/1619180393143615489
Let’s Red Velvet this chart
a two-game series. this should be interesting. Looking forward to watching how Davion defends those players. The athleticism of Edwards will be a good test for Keegan also when he’s matched up on him. bring some jumper cables to get the offense up and running again.
IMO, a very similar team to the Kings – seems like it has always been that way –
The KG vs CWebb individual and team battles were fun and intense, now 20 years ago. Back then, it was the Kings who jump ahead of Minny and then they caught up.
This season it’s The Kings who are trying to match the Twin Cities amazing 16 game jump last season and seem well on their way (fingers still very much crossed).
This TWolves team was on the ultimate momentum bounce at the end of last season until they got turned away by the WCF Grizzlies in the first round (after having to Play-in with a 46-36 record!).
And then with such a huge helping of Big Mo (momentum) – GM Connelly took a BIG swing – Stiffel Tower style. Then KAT went down. It’s like they are starting all over and having to find themselves. Swing and so far – a miss.
I bring this up as I hope that Sacramento doesn’t follow the Timberwolves in this path – following long awaited success with a shoot for the stars grasp for the top. If McNair does – I hope they reach for different than Rudy Gobert level player and with less mortgaging of the future. Too many eggs in that basket, IMO (big risk/big reward strategy).
Not gonna lie. I think Connelly acquired Gobert with the intention of moving on from Towns when the right deal presented itself. The only question to me is why they signed Towns to the Supermax when he, like Gobert, is not really worth it.
I keep thinking if Towns is healthy or somebody like the Raptors are willing to take him on, they could trade Siakam for Towns and Russell for Van Vleet. That would change the Raptors and Wolves significantly, and in a good way IMO.
Hmmm 🤔
I am not Karl-Anthony Fan. He’s not a catastrophe, but he has not impressed as either someone who makes his teammates better or his team. His personal stats and skills are impressive though. He’s a friendly version of a fellow WildKAT that cursed and technically fouled Sacramento just a few seasons ago. All for one and I’m the one!
A great fit with D’Angelo Russel who’s also prestigiously talented and occasionally motivated.
Apologies – I am flinging arrows that are sharper than deserved. I should just say that I am not a KAT fan, and D’Lo less so.
KAT, like Wiggins (is Minny manufacturing these guys!?) before him – would be superb as a third star, maybe second – just not a leader. Anthony Davis is lumped in there. Not everyone’s a leader. It makes Domas, Fox and Barnes extra valuable in Sactown.
If he (KAT) could ride shotgun or backseat in Sac- I would love to have him here. Super talented, but he has a big mirror in his locker if you ask me. Lebron would shape him well, so might Steph. Jimmy Butler gave up. Knicks’ll take him!
I think of it as Carmelo Syndrome.
I give Siakam and FVV much higher rating than either of those two is what I’m trying to say.
Alright – enough of my rambling rhetoric, back to your regularly scheduled programming .
Interesting points. One thought about Siakam and FVV: They are older with lots of miles on them. I know KAT is in their age range, but I think he might be a better fit around Scottie Barnes and I think he’s that guy you speak of from a leader standpoint. Maybe I’m wrong about that, though.
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