Timberwolves host struggling Jazz, chasing a fourth straight win without Anthony Edwards
Minnesota (7-3) hosts 1-8 Utah on Sunday at Target Center, aiming to stretch its win streak to four while Anthony Edwards recovers from knee surgery.
The Minnesota Timberwolves return to Target Center on Sunday with a three-game winning streak and a chance to extend it against a Utah team that has lost seven in a row. According to ESPN's game preview, Minnesota is 7-3 and sixth in the Western Conference, while the Jazz are 1-8, 15th in the West and winless in four road games. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Eastern, with the broadcast on DAZN MIN, KJZZ-TV and Jazz+.
The streak has come without the team's best player. Anthony Edwards is still out after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, a procedure the Star Tribune reported in late October could keep him out for up to two months. The team has said it does not expect long-term trouble with the knee, The Washington Post reported, but in the meantime the rotation is thin. ESPN's injury list also rules out Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles), Terrence Shannon Jr. (hip) and Joan Beringer (nose).
Utah has injury problems of its own. Jaren Jackson Jr. is out with a knee injury and Jusuf Nurkic is sidelined with a foot problem, which leaves the Jazz short of size and experience for the opener of a four-game season series.
What it means for Sunday
Minnesota has handled the stretch without Edwards better than its depth chart suggested it would. The Wolves lost their first game without him, 119-114 to Golden State, and have gone 4-2 since he went down. The last three wins all came by six points or more: 112-100 over Milwaukee at home, then 117-107 at Houston and 115-109 at New Orleans. Across those three games Minnesota scored 114.7 points and allowed 105.3.
The numbers from the full season look better still. Through 10 games the Wolves are scoring 118.4 points and allowing 107.7, a margin of nearly 11 points a night. The offense has slipped without Edwards, falling from 122.0 points in his four games to 116.0 in the six since. The defense has given up more as well, 109.5 points compared with 105.0. Even so, Minnesota is still winning by close to a possession and a half per game, and it is 3-1 at home, where the only loss came against the Warriors.
Utah gives the Wolves a softer test than any of their recent opponents. The Jazz went 22-60 last season, including 8-33 on the road and 1-15 against Northwest Division teams. They have started this season in about the same place, and they will be without two of their most important frontcourt players. Minnesota went 26-15 at Target Center a year ago and finished 49-33 overall.
The standings add some urgency. Minnesota sits third in the Northwest, half a game behind both Oklahoma City (7-2) and Portland (6-2). The schedule also stays at home for a while: after Sunday, five of the Wolves' next six games are at Target Center, starting with Dallas on Wednesday. Beating Utah would take Minnesota to 8-3, with a run of home dates ahead while it waits for Edwards to return.
