Timberwolves, without Anthony Edwards, host short-handed Clippers in NBA Cup opener
Minnesota tries to end a two-game skid Friday against a 1-3 Clippers team missing six players as NBA Cup group play opens at Target Center.
The Minnesota Timberwolves open NBA Cup group play Friday night at Target Center against the Los Angeles Clippers. They'll play without Anthony Edwards, who is listed out with a knee injury, and Donte DiVincenzo, who is out with an Achilles injury, according to the injury report in ESPN's game preview. The Associated Press produced that preview using data from Sportradar. Tipoff is 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. in Minneapolis). The game is on NBA League Pass and ClipperVision.
Missing Edwards is the change that matters most. Minnesota built a 3-2 start around a deep scoring attack, and now someone else has to carry the offense in a game that counts toward the Cup standings. The Clippers have even more players out. ESPN lists six Los Angeles players as out: Brandon Ingram (heel), Bradley Beal (knee), Rui Hachimura (quad), Max Strus (foot), Jordan Miller (shoulder) and Yanic Konan Niederhauser (Lisfranc). That's a large part of the rotation, and it explains some of the Clippers' 1-3 start.
The two clubs come in from different places. Minnesota went 49-33 last season and averaged 118.0 points, according to the ESPN preview. Los Angeles finished 42-40 and averaged 113.8 points while shooting 48.4% from the field and 36.8% from 3-point range. Minnesota is eighth in the Western Conference this season and Los Angeles is 12th.
What it means for Friday
The Timberwolves' season so far splits into two parts. They opened with three wins by a combined 70 points: 131-106 at Miami, 115-93 at Orlando and 117-94 at home against Toronto. Since then they have lost two close games. They fell 127-125 at Cleveland and then 119-114 at home to Golden State. Across five games, Minnesota is scoring 120.4 points and allowing 107.8, a margin of more than 12 points a night that the two losses have hidden a little.
The Golden State loss is the more recent concern. It dropped Minnesota to 1-1 at Target Center, and the two straight defeats have left the team a game behind Portland and Oklahoma City in the Northwest Division. A home game against a depleted opponent is a good chance to steady things before the schedule speeds up. Minnesota plays at San Antonio on Saturday, so the minutes on Friday matter. Without Edwards and DiVincenzo, the coaching staff has fewer ways to rest regulars on the first night of the back-to-back.
The Clippers arrive having lost three straight and are 0-2 on the road. With Ingram, Beal and Hachimura all out, they are missing a large share of last season's scoring. They'll have to find offense from a shortened bench against a Minnesota team that has held three of its five opponents under 107 points.
Group-stage games count toward both the Cup standings and the regular-season record, and point differential can decide ties in group play. That gives Minnesota a reason to keep pushing even if it builds a lead. This is the first of three meetings between the teams this season, and the next two are in Los Angeles. The Timberwolves won't have home court in this matchup again.
