The Timberwolves will hit the road for just one game as they travel to Memphis to face the Grizzlies on Wednesday night. Let's get a rundown... 1.) The Wolves are coming off a narrow two-point win over the Sacramento Kings last night. They didn't have Kevin Love, but plenty of players stepped up with solid performances. Derrick Williams started in Love's place and had 14pts, 8rebs, 1ast, 1stl & 3blks. Michael Beasley came off the bench and had 17pts & 14rebs. Beas took 21 shots to get those 17pts, but his 14rebs was HUGE without Kevin Love. Ricky Rubio had 6pts, 6rebs & 14ast (8ast came in the 1st Q). And of course--the biggest performance of the night for Minnesota came from Nikola Pekovic. Pek had 23pts, 10rebs, 3stls, 2blks, shot 9-12 FG & 5-5 FT. 2.) For Nikola Pekovic it's clear the Darko Milicic era as the team's starting center may have finally come to an end! Darko missed yet another game--this time with a sprained ankle. His never-ending and various injuries are already getting old. My biggest concern is him being happy coming off the bench. I don't see him playing very well as a reserve. In fact, I'd be happy with the Wolves starting Pek and bringing Miller (and occasionally Randolph--in the right situation) off the bench as the main backup(s). 3.) The Timberwolves are getting even healthier--so much so, they could be at 15 healthy players in just a week or so. Malcolm Lee is currently playing a week's worth of game's in the D-League. He had his first game last night and had 16pts & 6ast as a starter. We'll keep you updated on his progress game-by-game. 4.) The Wolves will once again be without their All-Star forward: Kevin Love. Love is serving his second-game of the two-game suspension he received for stomping Houston's Luis Scola. Derrick Williams will likely get the start again. 5.) The Grizzlies are currently 12-13 this season. The Timberwolves passed them in the rankings just a few days ago. The TWolves are currently 13-12 on the year and are actually having a very successful year on the road, they're 6-4. The Grizzlies are comfortable playing at home as well, currently 7-4 on the year. 6.) The Timberwolves are currently riding a three-game winning streak, whereas the Grizzlies are currently on a three-game losing streak. 7.) INJURY REPORT: The Timberwolves may be without Darko Milicic who is recovering from a sprained ankle and is listed as day-to-day. For the Grizzlies--they may be without starting off-guard Tony Allen who is listed as day-to-day with a hip/knee injury. 8.) The Memphis Grizzlies are clear-cut favorites for this one--according to Accuscore. The Grizz are an 81-19 favorite! Apparently without Kevin Love the Wolves are big underdogs. The Grizzlies have won four-straight at home over Minnesota and have won eight of nine overall in this series. 9.) The marquee matchup of the night will be big man Marc Gasol & the Wolves' new starting center: Nikola Pekovic. Pek definitely has the physicality and toughness in this matchup, but Gasol can step out to 15-feet and hit jump shots. 10.) Ultimately, the Timberwolves will need to have guys like D-Will, Beasley, Pek & Rubio to step up once again--in this one--against the likes of Mayo, Conley, Gay & Gasol! That's all for now, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! **Follow us on Twitter @HOWL_MnTWolves for all your TWolves updates**
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Cody D. AndersonA Wolves fan bringing you Gameday Recaps all season long! 2014-15 Game ArchivesGameday Archives
December 2015
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