Minnesota at Philadelphia: Joel Embiid is A Punk

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Our beloved, and perhaps sometimes hated, Wolves take on the Sixers this evening in what will be their first real test of the season.

The Nets were obviously without Kevin Durant, and one could argue that the Wolves should have lost that game -- and likely would have had Jarrett Allen not missed both go-ahead free throw attempts with just seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Heat were, fortunately [for Minnesota], without Jimmy Butler Sunday night and that definitely played into a Wolves victory. The two teams went back and forth all game and it's fair to wonder what happens if the former All-NBA wing is on the court for that matchup.

That leaves us here on a Wednesday afternoon patiently waiting to see the Wolves take on a healthy Sixers team later the same day. In typing that sentence, my iPhone unsuccessfully tried to autocorrect their team name to the "Sizers" and it's either because of the iOS 13.2 update or because Apple is aware of the starting lineup Philadelphia's rolling out on a nightly basis. They are a huge group.

PG: Ben Simmons (6'10, 240-lbs)
SG: Josh Richardson (6'5, 200-lbs)
SF: Tobias Harris (6'8, 226-lbs)
PF: Al Horford (6'9, 240-lbs)
C: Joel Embiid (7'0, 280-lbs)

*measurements taken from NBA.com

How Minnesota decides to matchup with their opponent will be a determining factor in whether or not this game is competitive, or an absolute blowout.

If I'm Ryan Saunders, I don't make any changes to the starting lineup or bench mob. When something isn't broken, you don't try to fix it -- especially not for a single game. Some have assessed that Saunders should start Jake Layman or Noah Vonleh tonight to offer more size in the lineup, but I disagree with these ideas. Neither Layman nor Vonleh will shift their positional matchup in Minnesota's favor. I'd agree that their minutes could be raised, but if I was Saunders, I would roll out these assignments:

Jeff Teague - Josh Richardson
Treveon Graham - Ben Simmons
Andrew Wiggins - Tobias Harris
Robert Covington - Al Horford
Karl-Anthony Towns - Joel Embiid

Ideally, Minnesota plays their own game and forces Philadelphia to make adjustments. Covington's activity off-ball will be huge. If he can get Horford to chase him around the perimeter and potentially get him into foul trouble, that would go a long way in getting a Wolves win. Wiggins will also need to play bigger than he usually does. Harris has him by a considerable weight difference, but Wiggins is arguably twice the athlete. This is one of those games where he needs to be the freak athlete.

[Coolbreeze44]

Not sure we are going to win tonight, but I like us to beat the 7.5 point spread.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Not sure we are going to win tonight, but I like us to beat the 7.5 point spread.

Yes. I'm ok with a moral victory tonight. If we can stay within single digits of a championship team on the road, I'll take it.

[thedoper]

They've got to change the rotation a bit I suspect. It would be nice if we forced Philly to adjust, but I doubt we will be able to on their home court. Either way I suspect KAT to be jacked for this one.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Minnesota confirms they will not make any changes to the starting lineup. I agree with this decision.

[Coolbreeze44]

On the other hand, I fully expected the Wolves to struggle during the first 25 games. Maybe tonight is evidence of that.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

Nice write up, this is how you start a game thread.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Love the fight from Towns. Embiid has about 30-35 pounds on him, but Towns has provided some resistance on the early post touches.

[BloopOracle]

Come on Graham how many wide-open threes are you going to clank

[kekgeek]

Graham, Culver and okogie will have to hit open 3s for the wolves to have a shot