{"id":804,"date":"2023-01-03T13:11:34","date_gmt":"2023-01-03T10:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xxbet-company.com\/minnesota-timberwolves-begin-new-year-amidst-skid-consider-lineup-change\/"},"modified":"2023-01-03T13:11:34","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T10:11:34","slug":"minnesota-timberwolves-begin-new-year-amidst-skid-consider-lineup-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xxbet-company.com\/es\/minnesota-timberwolves-begin-new-year-amidst-skid-consider-lineup-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota Timberwolves Begin New Year Amidst Skid, Consider Lineup Change"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_34 counter-flat ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Tabla de contenidos<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1'><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/xxbet-company.com\/es\/minnesota-timberwolves-begin-new-year-amidst-skid-consider-lineup-change\/#Frustrated_Timberwolves_Call_Players_Only_Meeting\" title=\"Frustrated Timberwolves Call Players\u2019 Only Meeting\">Frustrated Timberwolves Call Players\u2019 Only Meeting<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/xxbet-company.com\/es\/minnesota-timberwolves-begin-new-year-amidst-skid-consider-lineup-change\/#Chris_Finch_Ponders_Shuffling_Lineup\" title=\"Chris Finch Ponders Shuffling Lineup\">Chris Finch Ponders Shuffling Lineup<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>The Minnesota Timberwolves lost six games in the row, but enter 2023 with a specific goal to end their losing streak and regain control in the second half of the season.<\/p>\n<figure aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-250810\" data-style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-250810 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/GobertTimberwolves-142x95.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/GobertTimberwolves-142x95.jpg\" alt=\"Rudy Goobert Minnesota Timberwolves losing streak\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/GobertTimberwolves.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/GobertTimberwolves-142x95.jpg 142w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/GobertTimberwolves-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/GobertTimberwolves-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" data- title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-250810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/GobertTimberwolves.jpg\" alt=\"Rudy Goobert Minnesota Timberwolves losing streak\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/GobertTimberwolves.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/GobertTimberwolves-142x95.jpg 142w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/GobertTimberwolves-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/GobertTimberwolves-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"text-description\">Center Rudy Gobert from the Minnesota Timberwolves, seen here after a frustrating loss against the Memphis Grizzlies, struggled since leaving the Utah Jazz in an offseason trade. (Image: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>With a 16-21 record, the Timberwolves are in 11th place in the Western Conference standings. If the season ended today, they would bubble the Play-In Tournament and miss the postseason.<\/p>\n<p>The Timberwolves began this season with high expectations after they qualified for the playoffs last season through the 2022 Play-In Tournament. The team thought they made a huge leap forward after acquiring center Rudy Gobert in a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz. They were one of the preseason favorites to win the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nba-northwest-division-preview-odds-nuggets-timberwolves\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Northwest Division<\/a>, but they\u2019re now in fourth place and trailing the first place Denver Nuggets by 8.5 games.<\/p>\n<p>The addition of Gobert did not thrust them to the top of the stacked Western Conference. The team struggled in the first quarter of the season, and things got even worse when leading scorer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/karl-anthony-towns-minnesota-timberwolves-scary-injury\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Karl-Anthony Towns suffered a right calf injury<\/a> in late November.<\/p>\n<p>The Timberwolves are 6-10 since Towns went down against the Denver Nuggets. They hope he can return to the team sooner than later. But he\u2019s expected to miss a couple more weeks.<\/p>\n<p>The Timberwolves were a popular pick this preseason to win the 2022-23 NBA championship at +3500 odds. They slipped to +7000 odds after Towns\u2019 injury. During their recent losing streak, the Timberwolves saw their title odds tumble to +18000.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Frustrated_Timberwolves_Call_Players_Only_Meeting\"><\/span>Frustrated Timberwolves Call Players\u2019 Only Meeting<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Timberwolves suffered an embarrassing loss to the Detroit Pistons on New Years\u2019 Eve. The Pistons are in last place in the Eastern Conference, and the Timberwolves failed to beat one of the worst teams in the NBA. The ugly loss extended their losing streak to six games, which prompted frustrated veterans to call a players-only meeting.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\">\n<p><strong>I feel like we can change this,\u201d<\/strong> said veteran big man Naz Reid. <strong>\u201cWe know we can change it. So, we just got to buy into the things that we know.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve got two options,\u201d said Gobert. \u201cWe can sit back and feel sorry for ourselves, or we can just look ahead and understand that it\u2019s still a long season and we\u2019ve got a lot of time left if we keep that mindset of just keep getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shooting guard Anthony Edwards, the #1 pick from the 2020 NBA Draft, picked up the scoring slack for Towns. Edwards leads the team, averaging a career-high 23.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. The rest of the team has struggled offensively, especially 3-point shooting, and the bench unit has been inconsistent.<\/p>\n<p>The Gobert trade looks like a bust , but it\u2019s still too early of a sample size to tell. The former Defensive Player of the Year and top rim protector in the NBA has not looked like his dominant self. His stats are down across the board this season. In 31 games, Gobert averages 13.6 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 1.3 block per game.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Chris_Finch_Ponders_Shuffling_Lineup\"><\/span>Chris Finch Ponders Shuffling Lineup<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Timberwolves were the highest-scoring team in the NBA last year, averaging nearly 116 points per game, which made them must-see TV with their high-octane offense.<\/p>\n<p>The league saw an offensive boom this season, with seven teams scoring more than 116 points per game on a nightly basis. The Timberwolves only average 114.4 points per game this season, and they\u2019re #15 ranked scoring offense versus #1 last year. They\u2019re not sharing the ball as much, especially with Towns sidelined the last 16 games.<\/p>\n<p>The Timberwolves have been particularly awful in the third quarter this season. It\u2019s a pivotal time in games when winning teams pad their lead, or trailing teams hunker down on defense and cut their deficit. In the case of the Timberwolves, the third quarter is when they typically start digging their own graves with poor shooting and porous defense.<\/p>\n<p>Finch considered shuffling his starting lineup, or changing his bench rotation to spark the Timberwolves and end their losing streak.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\">\n<p><strong>Maybe I need to think differently about who plays when and how,\u201d<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/4048742\/2023\/01\/01\/timberwolves-rock-bottom-pistons\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Finch told reporters<\/a> after the loss to the Pistons. <strong>\u201cMaybe I\u2019ve just got to shuffle it up totally different.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Point guard D\u2019Angelo Russell was an important part of last season\u2019s turnaround as the team\u2019s third-best scorer behind Towns and Edwards. Russell\u2019s inconsistency has been an issue this season, but he\u2019s struggled to find his groove. He\u2019s averaging 17.1 points per game, but it\u2019s his worst year in six seasons.<\/p>\n<p>Finch would\u2019ve benched Russell already, but backup point guard Jordan McLaughlin is nursing a calf strain.<\/p>\n<p>Finch could promote Jaylen Nowell to the starting five, even though he\u2019s a shooting guard. Nowell anchors the second unit, averaging 11.5 points per game. But he\u2019s struggling from 3-point range with a 30% success rate.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/minnesota-timberwolves-losing-streak-2023-start\/\" target=\"_blank\">Minnesota Timberwolves Begin New Year Amidst Skid, Consider Lineup Change<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\" target=\"_blank\">Casino.org<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Minnesota Timberwolves lost six games in the row, but enter 2023 with a specific goal to end their losing streak and regain control in the second half of the season. Center Rudy Gobert from the Minnesota Timberwolves, seen here after a frustrating loss against the Memphis Grizzlies, struggled since leaving the Utah Jazz in <a href=\"https:\/\/xxbet-company.com\/es\/minnesota-timberwolves-begin-new-year-amidst-skid-consider-lineup-change\/\" class=\"more-link\">&#8230;<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xxbet-company.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xxbet-company.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xxbet-company.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xxbet-company.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xxbet-company.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xxbet-company.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xxbet-company.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xxbet-company.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xxbet-company.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xxbet-company.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}