Milwaukee Bucks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Preview & Game Thread: Let’s get serious

The Milwaukee Bucks play their seventh game of the year tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves, a squad widely seen as one of the Western Conference’s best before the season began, but one that has had anything but a smooth start to the year, sitting just above .500. Of course, that bumpy ride is set to continue with the news that they will be without Anthony Edwards for about two months while he undergoes knee surgery. Although that news is obviously very bad for the Wolves—and you never wish injury on anyone—this opens the door for the Bucks in a game they otherwise would have had almost no shot at winning. These two teams played in the preseason, and the Wolves waxed the Bucks with little effort—hopefully that won’t be repeated tonight.

The Task Ahead

The Timberwolves, after their offseason reshuffle, are still adjusting. After three scintillating opening wins from Minnesota—a 25-point win over Miami, a 22-point blowout over Orlando, and a 23-point win over Toronto—they fell flat in an overtime thriller against Cleveland, marked by turnover issues and late-game execution struggles. After the loss, news came out that Anthony Edwards would undergo knee surgery that would keep him off the court for up to two months.

Since Edwards has been out, the Timberwolves have gone 1-2, including a 121-111 loss to the San Antonio Spurs where new addition LaMelo Ball shot 2/10 and managed just 10 points in 20 minutes. Ball has had many exciting moments in Minny, but also some frustrating ones; his foul trouble and playmaking inconsistency have been issues at times. Crucially, Rudy Gobert has also started slow, and a lack of size outside Gobert—along with Donte DiVincenzo’s absence—has contributed to an inconsistent seven games so far. Minnesota currently sits in 10th place in the West at 4-3, and they’ll want to regain momentum heading into a stacked November.

Injury Report

Bucks:

• No injuries

Timberwolves:

• Donte DiVincenzo: Out (Achilles)
• Anthony Edwards: Out (knee)

Player to Watch

Rudy Gobert has drawn online mockery after a rough start to the season. The 7’1” center has been in a shooting slump, going at just 41.2% from the field and sub-50% from the charity stripe; he even went 0/13 across a two-game stretch! Sure, Gobert has never been the most complete offensive player, but he’s been flat-out inefficient on shots he usually makes, shooting just 48% on rim attempts. On the other hand, Gobert remains an elite rebounder (averaging north of 12 boards per contest) and one of the league’s most intimidating defenders.

The matchup between Gobert and Myles Turner—another struggling center—will be very intriguing. Of course, the two have history, having got into an altercation in 2021 when Gobert played for the Jazz and Turner played for the Pacers. Keeping Gobert from finding an offensive rhythm and drawing him out of the key on defence will be crucial in the Bucks’ attempt to secure their second win of the season.

Projected StartersBucksPositionTimberwolvesRyan RollinsPGLaMelo BallTyler HerroSGAyo DosunmuJaime Jaquez Jr.SFJaden McDanielsKyle KuzmaPFJonathan KumingaMyles TurnerCRudy GobertGame Details

Who: Milwaukee Bucks (1-5) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (4-3).

When: 7:00 p.m. CST.

Where: Target Center—Minneapolis, MN.

Watch: MY24.

Listen: Check local listings.

Prescient Prediction

Ousmane Dieng scores more than 10 points for the first time this season. He’s gotten off to a slow start, averaging 2.4 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 1.2 APG on .422/.311/.716 shooting splits in just 11.8 minutes per night. However, this slump may be temporary, and despite Milwaukee’s lockdown defense and standout wings, I sense a Dieng resurgence.