2 games, 2 cities, 2 bad. Timberwolves vs Trail Blazers

Back-to-backs remain the bane of the Minnesota Timberwolves so far this season. And when that back-to-back is combined with travel time from one city to another, well, that’s something these Timberwolves can’t get over just yet.

Ah, but the Timberwolves continued to show some positive signs. In a game without Karl-Anthony Towns, Taurean Prince or Jordan McLaughlin, the Timberwolves held a slim half-time lead and were just four minutes on the game clock within two points.

If you want a good loss, a game where the Timberwolves play hard and just don’t make head-banging mistakes, then this was one that fit into that category. The Timberwolves were the more accurate shooters, both from the ground and from the perimeter. The Timberwolves score more than the Portland Trail Blazers when it comes to livery. The Timberwolves committed fewer fouls, had twice the steals of their opponents and even had more assists.

How did the Trail Blazers win this one? rebounds

The board of blazers works too much for weary wolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves got nine rebounds from Rudy Gobert and another 7 rebounds from Kyle Anderson. That was hardly a problem for the Portland Trail Blazers, who grabbed 15 rebounds from C. Jusuf Nurkic, eight rebounds from SG Josh Hart, and seven rebounds from SF Jeremy Grant. The game’s telling story was offensive rebounds where the Blazers missed, got the offensive rebound with a reset clock, and scored on the second (or third) try.

The Timberwolves backcourt duo unveiled some impressive numbers, adding further evidence to the claim that they should be part of the discussions for the top 5 NBA backcourts of the season:

PG D’Angelo Russell 9/15 FG 24pts 4/5 3PTs, 1 Reb, 3 Branches, 3 Stl
SG Anthony Edwards 10/20 FG 26pts 4/8 3PTs, 6 Reb 7 Ast 2 Stl

But they faced a proud and prolific backcourt duo in this instance who posted even more impressive numbers:

PG Damien Lillard 9/22 FG 36pts 3/11 3PTs, 3 Reb, 8 Ast, 2 Stl
SG Anfernee Simons 13/22 FG 31 Pt. 5/10 3PTs, 3 Reb 1 Ast 0 Stl

The Portland Trail Blazers fired a lot more shots than the Minnesota Timberwolves because they had a distinct and undeniable rebound advantage in this one. The two teams will have an opportunity to rest, regroup, and face off again on Monday, December 12, 2022 at 9:00 PM CT.

Will there be a different result? I wouldn’t bet against it.