The Minnesota Timberwolves will play their third game in four nights when they tip off against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night in Minneapolis.
Minnesota is coming off a 113-103 loss on the road against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. That followed a 119-116 home victory by the Timberwolves over the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch is fine with the hectic schedule to start the season.
“I love these types of situations,” Finch said. “You’ve got to be physically tough. You’ve got to be mentally tough. You’ve got to go out and find a way to win.
“We’ve never been a ‘rest team’ anyway. I think our guys enjoy the challenge.”
Charlotte has also faced plenty of challenges on its schedule. The Hornets are coming off two straight home games against the Boston Celtics, both of which they lost.
The Hornets lost the first matchup 124-109 on Friday night and the second matchup 113-103 on Saturday night. They enjoyed one day off before another tough test against the Timberwolves.
Hornets coach Charles Lee said his players would benefit from facing the reigning NBA champions on back-to-back nights.
“Tonight was another great learning experience, growth opportunity for us to realize the importance and the emotional maturity it takes to win a close game like this,” Lee said after his team went up against the Celtics. “These guys, they work so hard and they’re out there competing their butts off, yelling out different coverages, communicating, being together.
“We really just want them to focus on what you can control. All those things that are outside of our grasp and control, we’ve got to let those distractions go and focus on stuff that’s going to help us build winning habits.”
The Hornets’ next task will be to try to slow down Anthony Edwards, who is averaging a team-high 28.3 points to go along with 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in his first six games. Julius Randle is next with 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists, and Naz Reid ranks third in scoring with 13.7 points per game.
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert is questionable to play because of a sore left ankle. Gobert is averaging a double-double with 10.8 points and 10.3 rebounds.
Charlotte’s top scorer is LaMelo Ball, who is averaging 30.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists. Ball is shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Tre Mann is second on the team with 19.2 points per game off the bench. Miles Bridges is averaging 13.3 points, and Brandon Miller and Nick Richards are averaging 11 points apiece.
Miller is listed as questionable to play because of a glute injury. Richards is expected to miss the game because of a sore right shoulder.
If Gobert cannot play for Minnesota, that could mean additional playing time for reserve big man Josh Minott. On Saturday, Minott finished with four points and two rebounds in 10 minutes of playing time.
Minnesota is 2-1 at home this season. Charlotte is 1-1 on the road.
–Field Level Media