Timberwolves at Blazers: Game #80

Wolves at Blazers
9:30 pm CDT
FS North

The Wolves play their final road game of the season tonight in Portland against the Blazers. The Blazers have something to play for, as they will try to maintain their 5th position in the Western Conference, with the struggling Grizzlies and suddenly hot Mavericks just behind them.

The Blazers have had a surprisingly successful year after a summer spent replacing much of their core roster from the last couple of seasons. Now focused around the back court of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, they have done a great job integrating new acquisitions like Al-Farouq Aminu, Ed Davis, and Mason Plumlee putting themselves in playoff position.

Their success has been driven by terrific three point shooting: they have the 5th most attempts and 3rd best percentage in the league, and feature five players shooting at least 36% with over 200 attempts: Lillard, McCollum, Aminu, Allen Crabbe, and Meyers Leonard. The Wolves will have to be quick on their defensive rotations and close outs to avoid getting bombarded from beyond the arc.

This is the last opportunity for the Wolves to get a win over the Blazers. All three previous games have gone Portland's way, though they have all been competitive contests. The Wolves are coming in off back to back wins in Oakland and Sacramento, and are looking to end their season on a high note, with two home games to finish it off after tonight.

Expected lineups

Blazers

Damian Lillard
C.J. McCollum
Al-Farouq Aminu
Maurice Harkless
Mason Plumlee

Wolves

Ricky Rubio
Zach LaVine
Andrew Wiggins
Gorgui Dieng
Karl-Anthony Towns

Our blogging buddies are over at Blazer's Edge. Be excellent. (I mean it).

No no no.

Enjoy. Chat. Go.