The Minnesota Timberwolves came into this game against the Philadelphia 76ers on a 3 game-winning streak. This has been an actual test for the Timberwolves this season without Karl Anthony-Towns in the lineup and they’ve answered pretty well. Tonight was one of those nights where the Timberwolves missed KAT in the lineup as they were going up against one of the best players in the world Joel Embiid. The 76ers ruled out James Harden pregame and left it to be the Joel Embiid show as he would be facing Rudy Gobert in the paint.
The Timberwolves came out flat in this game as they were trying to play catch up the whole time it seemed like throughout the night. Joel Embiid was special tonight as he was able to exploit a lot of the mismatches and he was smart enough to counter any adjustments that the Timberwolves made. Joel Embiid played a great game and forced Coach Finch to make adjustments to the lineup as Embiid was trying to bring Rudy Gobert out on the perimeter. As Joel Embiid started getting his game going it was too late for the Timberwolves to slow him down. On the night Joel Embiiid finished with 39 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. It was clear as day who the best player was on the floor tonight as Embiid was hitting shot after shot with ease. When Joel Embiid is this hot from the field all you could do is respect it and that’s exactly what the Timberwolves did.
Without James Harden, in the lineup, the 76ers turned to Tyrese Maxey to make a huge impact to fill that void and he did just that. Tyrese Maxey finished the game with 27 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists on the night and was able to make the best of players on Minnesota guarding him. Maxey has a quick first step and he was able to use that to take advantage of the defense as they were focused on Joel Embiid. The 76ers played some great defense tonight and part of it was the Timberwolves missing shots but they made it tough on them all night. The 76ers were making a lot of their shots and made the Timberwolves pay as they shot 49% from the field for the night. Joel Embiid had a lot to do with that percentage as he was able to score inside and out but he was able to get to his spots with ease all night.
The bright side for the Timberwolves was that Anthony Edwards showed up again and made the best of the situation. The Timberwolves had an off-night shooting and the 3-point shot was the main thing not going down for them. Anthony Edwards was able to score on the inside and out against ant defender Philly put in his way. Edwards finished with 32 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist on the night in the loss. One thing about Edwards he wants to continue to get better and something like this will go a long way when it comes to building character. Th 76ers had a game plan and executed it to the fullest and the Timberwolves got away from what helped them on their road trip. Minnesota got out-hustled tonight and shots just weren’t going in for them. It’s not a good thing when Anthony Edwards is the only start in double figures.
The Timberwolves lost this one because of the greatness Joel Embiid displayed but they will look to bounce back on Friday against the Brooklyn Nets. Look for the team to come out aggressive and try to build that confidence to continue getting those wins. The Timberwolves can be successful but they can’t have Anthony Edwards be the only starter with double figures in points at all. The NBA has turned into a face pace track meet and the Timberwolves will need to get back on track quickly with Mikal Bridges and them boys coming into town.
Photo Credit: (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)
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