We’ve made it to Wednesday and the Wolves have managed to not screw up this week yet. In fact, it’s been a delightful start. They whooped the Kings on Monday and got a little revenge for that 141-point “Where The Hell Did The Improved Defense Go?” dud in Sacramento. (I’m still not ready to talk much about the loss in Phoenix.)
The strong start to the week continued last night. The entire team was at the Super Target in Roseville for their annual Kids Holiday Shopping Spree. I attended the event for the first time in my life and seeing the smiles on those families faces was priceless. 14 children from low-income households, who currently have or recently had a parent in the military deployed overseas, were treated to a memorable day.
It started with the children meeting for Crunch’s Holiday Bus Ride. During the trip, the kids were surprised with an announcement that each of them were going to receive a $500 shopping spree with Wolves players. In addition, each child was given a new 40” TCL Roku TV and Fitbit Ace activity tracker. Their shopping carts also included a basketball to have signed by the players and the families received $500 gas gift cards. Everyone involved seemed to truly enjoy the night. Even Thibs and Layden were there!
Josh Okogie sees Thibs smiling here at the Wolves annual Holiday shopping spree for kids and says, “Gotta see that smile on the court coach!”
— John Meyer (@thedailywolf) December 19, 2018
Oh, Josh. As if your approval rating needs to be any higher.
Timberwolves holiday shopping spree! pic.twitter.com/sYTHisE8Kp
— John Meyer (@thedailywolf) December 19, 2018
Now it’s time to keep the good week going strong. Detroit is in town tonight. Andrew Drummond and Blake Griffin give the Pistons a legitimate 1-2 punch and the Wolves will need to keep them off the glass. Blake had a quadruple-double in a close loss to the Bucks on Monday night.
What does Vegas think? Wolves are current favorites at -5. The Over/Under is set at 217.5 and ESPN’s Matchup Predictor has them at a 66.5% win probability. Jeff Teague will miss his second straight game with left ankle inflammation.
Other Notes
I guess the NBA doesn’t care about tampering.
LeBron James wants the Lakers to trade for Anthony Davis. At the very least, he wants the conversation about it to start. So let's have a frank look at it: https://t.co/IkUMjYXn38
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) December 19, 2018
Goran Dragic is going to be out for a while with a bum knee. Tough blow for the Heat. Point Justise Winslow, anyone?
Miami’s Goran Dragic will miss two months with knee surgery, per source.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 19, 2018
John Collins is awesome and I love him and wish the Wolves would’ve picked him instead of Justin Patton. I simply wanted to express my say affinity for his game in this space. I know our friend PD was President of the JC Fan Club before the draft in 2017. He was right. ALL CREDIT GOES TO HIM.
Be kind.
Smile.
Enjoy your day.
All Hail Lord Covington.