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Game Preview #20: Wolves at Cavaliers

Run it back!

Cleveland Cavaliers v Minnesota Timberwolves Photo by Harrison Barden/Getty Images

Game Info

Who: Minnesota Timberwolves (5-14) at Cleveland Cavaliers (9-11)
When: 7:00pm CST
TV: Fox Sports North (streaming on the Fox Sports Go app)
Radio: 830 WCCO AM Radio


What To Watch For

The Timberwolves and Cavaliers face off in round two of their home-and-home series, with both teams tonight squaring off at Rocket Mortgage Field House in Cleveland, Ohio.

As you know by now, the Wolves knocked off the Cavs in game one of this series Sunday night at Target Center, led by the best performance (thus far) of Anthony Edwards’ young NBA career. My good friends John Meyer and Dane Moore both highlighted the fun that was had last night in Minneapolis — both in print and in podcast form.

As Jack notes above in his tweet, not only did Anthony Edwards fill it up in his second consecutive start of the season, but he did so efficiently — which is not something we had seen in the first month or so of the season. Known to many as “ANT-Man,” it does appear as if the rookie is starting to see the game better as things slow down around him, which is leading not only to increased production but also more fun for everyone involved:

As for the Cavs, they entered Sunday night’s contest ranking in the top 10 in terms of defensive efficiency, and while it may not have showed against the Wolves, I would expect them to make some adjustments and be a far more formattable opponent on Monday night.

One last thing to monitor about this Wolves/Cavs matchup — aside from the points in the paint battle — will be the number of three pointers attempted (and made) by both teams:

While the Wolves appeared to have no answer for Andre Drummond (and still don’t until Karl-Anthony Towns eventually returns), Minnesota did rely on good old-fashioned math to outduel Cleveland on Sunday, and this could be the determining factor tonight on which team leaves victorious.

Injury Reports

As for the injury report, it still looks mostly the same — with the one big change being the upgrade from OUT to QUESTIONABLE for Juancho Hernangomez. While Juancho has indeed cleared the health & safety protocols, he still needs additional time to work himself back into shape before being placed back on the court. He will be in uniform tonight but will only be available in case of an emergency.

On the other side of the court, Cleveland will once again be without the services of our good friend Kevin Love, who is still recovering from getting engaged a severe calf injury. Additionally...

To get the oven preheated for tonight’s rematch, I’ll leave you with this video of Anthony Edwards and what he had to say when asked if there’s any player in the league that he’s afraid to go at on the offensive end:

Happy Monday. Go Wolves.