MIN NEWS & NOTES (1/23)
ft. Gibson, KAT & Bazz!
Taj Gibson: 14 pts, 6 boards & 4 steals -- Gibson's been steady all season long v. the Clips: in 3 contests, he's averaging a double-double: 16.7 points & 10.3 boards in just over 38 min./game.
Thibs continues to rely heavily upon Taj on both ends - his minutes remain high, he's producing accordingly. He's averaging 12.1 on the season - highest since 2013-14 (13 ppg).
Winning Without Jimmy Butler -- Somehow, someway, the Wolves squeaked by the Clips, 126-118.
It's telling of how far they've come? this year.
Karl-Anthony Towns really struggled to get going last night: shot just 1/7 from the field.
Luckily, it didn't matter. A. Wiggins had a hot hand (40! pts), Jeff Teague scored a season-high (30) + KAT stayed aggressive on the glass: 17! boards.
31 victories, including 2 straight w/o Butler. Is Minnesota crossing into contender territory?
Shabazz! -- Sans Butler & Crawford, Thibs has shuffled his wing corps, searching for a decent scorer & capable defender.
Shabazz Muhammad got a shot last night and produced solid results. Though his numbers were modest (6 pts in 8 min.), his points came at opportune times, as the Wolves staved off LAC in the second half.
8 minutes is no true indicator of Bazz's future PT - did he play simply because Wolves needed bodies or is he primed for more opportunities to rejoin the rotation?
With Marcus Georges-Hunt already earning nice minutes on the wing (21 off the bench @ LAC), Muhammad might need spot minutes at the 3.