The Minnesota Timberwolves are set to play their third game in four nights when they face the Charlotte Hornets on Monday evening in Minneapolis.
The Timberwolves come into this game after losing 113-103 to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. This loss followed a close 119-116 victory at home against the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch is not concerned about the busy schedule at the start of 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.”
The Charlotte Hornets have also faced many difficulties in their schedule. They just played two home games against the Boston Celtics, losing both.
The Hornets lost the first game 124-109 on Friday night and then 113-103 on Saturday night. After one day off, they are gearing up for another tough game against the Timberwolves.
Hornets coach Charles Lee believes his players can learn a lot from playing against the reigning NBA champions back-to-back.
“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 faced 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 challenge will be to try to stop Anthony Edwards, who is leading the team with an average of 28.3 points, along with 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in his first six games. Julius Randle is second with 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists, while Naz Reid is third in scoring with 13.7 points per game.
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert is questionable to play due to a sore left ankle. Gobert is averaging a double-double with 10.8 points and 10.3 rebounds.
Charlotte’s leading scorer is LaMelo Ball, who averages 30.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. Ball is shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from three-point range.
Tre Mann is second on the team with 19.2 points per game coming off the bench. Miles Bridges averages 13.3 points, and both Brandon Miller and Nick Richards average 11 points each.
Miller is listed as questionable to play due to a glute injury, while Richards is expected to miss the game because of a sore right shoulder.
If Gobert cannot play for Minnesota, it may lead to more playing time for backup big man Josh Minott. On Saturday, Minott had four points and two rebounds in 10 minutes of play. Minnesota has a record of 2-1 at home this season, while Charlotte is 1-1 on the road.
