Tag: Minnesota Timberwolves

Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: Dec. 9-15

One of them didn’t play at all this past week.

Former Notre Dame guard [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] had a couple of opportunities to prove himself with the San Antonio Spurs this past week. After not playing in a Dec. 8 win against the New Orleans Pelicans, he scored eight points and tied his season high with eight assists Dec. 13 to help beat the Portland Trail Blazers. Four points and five assists while losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 15 meant averaging 6.0 points and 6.5 assists for the week.

With the Milwaukee Bucks winning a couple of games to advance to the NBA Cup final, Doc Rivers opted to leave [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] on the bench the entire week. While it’s hard to tell what will happen when the Bucks battle the Oklahoma City Thunder for the title Dec. 17, this past week suggests Connaughton won’t play in that game either unless it’s a blowout and Rivers empties his bench. It’s tough to see Connaughton drop out of the Bucks’ rotation, but that’s the life of an NBA player, especially as one gets older.

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Draymond Green joyfully taunted Rudy Gobert with a petty ‘night-night’ all the way down the floor

Draymond Green was waiting for this moment for his entire NBA career.

Draymond Green does not like Rudy Gobert. At all. In fact, Green probably hates Gobert (yes, hates) more than any other opposing player in the NBA. No one would reasonably dispute these statements. So, on Sunday night, Green enjoyed a glorious moment over the Minnesota Timberwolves reigning Defensive Player of the Year, for which he’s probably been waiting years.

As the Golden State Warriors tried to close Minnesota out, Green had the ball at the top of the key. Gobert guarded him one-on-one. Green blew by Gobert and took it to the rack for a vicious dunk that essentially locked up the Warriors’ win.

Green could’ve left it there and simply run back on defense. He, of course, did not do that. Not when he had a chance to poke and prod at Gobert. No sir.

Instead, Green emulated Steph Curry by doing a hilarious “night, night” taunt while following Gobert all the way down the floor.

Goodness, isn’t basketball better with real hate and pettiness like this?

What do you think the over and under is on the number of times Green thought about dunking on Gobert and taunting him before this happened? Could we even count it without a machine? Probably not. And how many times do you think Green has already watched this clip while cackling to himself? That’s also likely off the charts.

The Warriors and Timberwolves will meet up again in just about two weeks, but I really wish that matchup were tomorrow.  I, for one, can’t wait to see what new antics Green has in store for Gobert.

Anthony Edwards savagely roasted the Timberwolves after taking a 4th loss in a row

Anthony Edwards is ruffling feathers in the locker room.

Folks, things do not sound like they’re going great for the Timberwolves in Minnesota right now.

After making the Western Conference Finals for the first time in two decades last season, expectations were obviously high for the Wolves this season. But, after four straight losses, including one on Wednesday against the Raptors, it seems like it might be time to revisit the team’s outlook.

Nobody in Minnesota is happy about that. Fans were booing the team off of its homecourt while the Raptors went on a 26-6 run to bring themselves back into the game and win it.

After the game, Anthony Edwards called the entire team out, saying that as a team the Timberwolves were “soft” and played like “frontrunners.”

“I think it’s we soft as hell as a team, internally. Not to the other team, but internally, we soft. We can’t talk to each other. Just a bunch of little kids,” Edwards said.

Sheesh.

Now, to be fair, this isn’t just him holding his teammates’ feet to the fire. He’s taking accountability himself, too. But this is sure to ruffle some feathers in that locker room.

But, knowing Edwards, that’s exactly what he’s trying to do. We’ll see if it works.

Jaylen Brown rightfully took exception to the Timberwolves’ announcers hammering his 3-point shooting

Jaylen Brown’s talent deserved more respect from the Timberwolves announcers.

Sunday night in the NBA featured an awesome battle between the reigning champion Boston Celtics and title contender Minnesota Timberwolves. The Celtics prevailed 107-105 behind a strong shooting performance from perennial All-NBA forward Jaylen Brown (29 points), especially from behind the arc.

But if you ask the Timberwolves announcing crew, there’s simply no way one of the NBA’s best players could ever get hot. C’mon now.

As Brown made four 3s in an approximate two-minute span at the start of the game, the Minnesota commentators weirdly kept hammering how Brown was, actually, a limited shooter because of a poor start to the season. And even as he poured buckets in (Brown finished 7-of-10 from behind the arc), they just wouldn’t let this narrative about a proven veteran superstar go:

“Literally, I would give him that shot.”

Really, you would give a guy who has shown he’s a top-15-caliber player in the league an open 3-point attempt just because of a cold month to start the season (which happens for players all the time)?

Yeah, I don’t think any logical coach comprising a solid game plan would follow that line of thinking. I’d rather someone like Jaylen Brown didn’t shoot open 3s because I recognize that small sample sizes are a thing. He’s a career 36 percent shooter on high volume. He’s not someone you give open looks!

Brown caught wind of the Timberwolves’ announcers’ bizarre criticism and responded with a NSFW comment on Twitter. (Note: I have edited out a portion of his word choice.)

Good for Brown because he’s absolutely right. He understands that mini slumps happen all the time in a league with some of the best basketball players in the world.

Christian Braun said Nikola Jokic scaring Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert over play prediction is normal

Nikola Jokic keeps finding new ways to amaze everyone.

The Denver Nuggets may have lost their first matchup this season with the fellow Western Conference heavyweight Minnesota Timberwolves in a thriller last Friday night, but reigning MVP Nikola Jokic still did enough to spook star Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert during a key late-game sequence.

In the Minnesota locker room, Edwards and Gobert openly chatted about how Jokic knew one of their plays out of a timeout before they got into position. The two Timberwolves franchise players couldn’t believe that Jokic telegraphed precisely what they were planning to do.

While it’s not confirmed that the video below was the sequence, it sure seems like it is based on how Edwards and Gobert watch in clear disbelief as Jokic gives directions and tells the other Nuggets where to stand.

The Nuggets obviously got a stop on the play:

On Monday, as the Nuggets prepared for a home game against the Toronto Raptors, Denver starting shooting guard Christian Braun was asked about Jokic spooking Edwards and Gobert after their conversation went viral. Braun claimed that Jokic really does this kind of thing every game.

For Braun, who is made better by Jokic’s uncanny intelligence and feel for the game, this is just a regular occurrence. That’s absurd, man:

At face value, it’s not surprising that a superstar like Jokic probably watches a lot of film and studies opposing teams’ tendencies. That’s a prerequisite task if you’re going to be an exceptional professional athlete. No elite talent goes out there every night and wings it that much.

But this Jokic instance felt a bit different. Basketball is much more of a free-flowing game than other sports, where film study comes in even handier. The Timberwolves hadn’t even entered their set yet. And Jokic knew exactly what they wanted to do before they initiated it anyway, much to the shock of Minnesota’s two best players.

Jokic is in Year 10 of an illustrious career. Somehow, he’s still finding new ways to shock and amaze everyone who watches him play.

Christian Braun posterized Rudy Gobert and quickly regretted his celebration

The dunk was nasty, the celebration was a bit much.

Christian Braun threw down an early contender for Dunk of the Year on Friday night when his Denver Nuggets visited the Minnesota Timberwolves.

As the Nuggets nursed a six-point lead with barely five minutes left in regulation, Braun took a feed from Russell Westbrook, soared into the lane and launched himself over four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.

Braun attacking the rim regardless of who’s in front of him is nothing new. Neither was his reaction. The guard let out a road as thunderous as his dunk and shoved Gobert out of the way, starting a bit of a scuffle.

The brouhaha ended with the refs assessing double technical fouls and killing whatever momentum the Nuggets gained from Braun’s dunk. That ended up becoming a turning point for the Timberwolves, who stormed back with a 17-6 run and secured the 119-116 win on an Anthony Edwards go-ahead bucket with 25 seconds remaining.

After the latest tough Nuggets loss, Braun owned up to his part in sparking Minnesota’s run and admitted some regret over his actions.

“I got to be more responsible,” Braun told reporters after the game. “It’s two points. Obviously, those are the plays you want to make and those are the momentum plays I want to make, but getting a tech throws the momentum their way, so I got to do a better job of controlling myself.”

Former Georgia Bulldog shines in 2024 NBA season debut

Anthony Edwards plays well in Timberwolves’ season opener

Former Georgia Bulldog Anthony Edwards has been the face of the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise for a few years, and he proved it in the second game of the NBA season. He scored 27 points, which led the team, along with six rebounds and three assists, making 10 of his 25 attempts. Unfortunately, his prowess couldn’t lift the Timberwolves over the Lakers, losing 110-103.

Edwards had this to say in the press conference after the game.

“I feel like we got really good shots. I feel like we just missed a lot of shots, me included.”

On getting open looks:

“I feel like I got a lot of open looks tonight. Like I said, we got great looks. If we make those shots we win the game. It’s that simple. If I make the open shots I missed I’ll win the game.”

On the first half turnovers:

“We made some lazy passes. We weren’t ready to play yet. We came too relaxed,” said Edwards.

Here is the link to the full post-game interview:

Edwards is one of three Georgia Bulldogs in the NBA along with Orlando Magic guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton.

Anthony Davis took a not-so-subtle shot at Rudy Gobert with his DPOY comments

Anthony Davis just launched his DPOY campaign.

After a dominant win by the Los Angeles Lakers over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Opening Night, fans heard from Anthony Davis.

The nine-time All-Star played a particularly great game, finishing with 36 points and 16 rebounds as well as 3 blocks and 1 steal. It was a masterful performance by Davis, who played well against Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert.

Davis, who also defeated Gobert when Team USA won a gold medal over Team France during the 2024 Paris Olympics, spoke about his game after the win. He took a not-so-subtle shot at Gobert, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year winner.

Davis said that he personally displayed “Defensive Player of the Year type stuff” during the win over Minnesota.

He regularly scored over Gobert, including on crucial jumpers:

Gobert finished with just 1 block and no steals, scoring 13 points in the loss.

Davis had some majorly impactful moments against Gobert, like this block:

Even though Victor Wembanyama is the favorite to win the NBA’s DPOY, perhaps Davis could return far better value.

Davis (+2200) is more of a sleeper than some of the frontrunners but if he plays like he did in the season opener, he will have a serious chance to win it.

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Minnesota sports stars Justin Jefferson, Anthony Edwards recreate iconic photo

The Minnesota legends lived up to the billing by doing this.

Back in 2000, Viking star wide receiver Randy Moss and Timberwolves legend Kevin Garnett teamed up for one of the most epic photos in recent memory. It was on ESPN magazine, and Moss wore a Garnett jersey, and Garnett wore a Moss jersey.

On Tuesday, the photo was recreated between the newest Minnesota stars. Justin Jefferson and Anthony Edwards teamed up to recreate the photo that Minnesota fans will always remember.

In the original photo, Randy Moss wore diamond studs, and Kevin Garnett boasted miniature gold hoops and a nondescript band around his left wrist. Now, Jefferson pairs larger diamond studs with a layered diamond chain; Edwards also wears a necklace, along with a black hoop through his right earlobe.

With the NBA opening up on Tuesday night, the photo was perfect for spreading across the internet.

 

Who is Karl-Anthony Towns’ girlfriend? Meet Jordyn Woods and see photos over the years.

A look back at photos of the model and the Knicks star.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordyn Woods have known each other a long time, but it wasn’t until 2020 that they actually got together as a couple.

Per People, they were friends … and then they were more than friends during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were Instagram official in September of 2020, and ever since then, we’ve seen her courtside at games and they’ve posted about each other on social media ever since.

As the New York Knicks star continues to produce in the NBA, let’s take a look back at some of their most adorable moments on Instagram that we’ve seen so far in their relationship:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFn4eNMlmVB/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=fe6e6fb5-c496-4d86-8d6d-35032880708e

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3twGMEt-Uv/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3wJhGlN27q/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoqOaIbu8F5/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtzCyeYumiX/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxjd5Gksxhp/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3W51o3O98f/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7MaqZCrxtV/?hl=en