Preview: San Antonio Spurs at Minnesota Timberwolves – Game #32
Julian Champagnie and the Spurs will try to hunt down the Timberwolves (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs will play their fourth and final game of a road trip tonight in Minnesota against the Timberwolves. The Spurs (16-15) and Timberwolves (16-14) are neck and neck in the Western Conference standings. Currently, Minnesota is the eighth seed and the Spurs are tied with the Golden State Warriors for the ninth seed.
The Spurs are coming off of a 96-87 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. The Silver and Black didn’t play especially well but they did enough to defeat a short-handed Nets squad.
The Timberwolves bounced back from a three-game losing streak by winning their previous two ballgames. Both wins were rather impressive. After beating the Dallas Mavericks, they rallied to take down the Houston Rockets.
Victor Wembanyama Dominating
Victor Wembanyama has led the Spurs in scoring the last eight games. On the season, he’s now averaging 25.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 4.0 blocks per game, while shooting 48.0% from the field, 36.1% on three-pointers and 88.4% at the free throw line.
In the month of December, Wembanyama’s numbers have been even more impressive. During that ten-game stretch, he’s averaging 28.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 4.8 blocks, while connecting on 49.0% of his shots from the floor, 39.6% of his three-pointers and 89.8% of his attempts from the charity stripe.
San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup
With no injuries to report, expect interim head coach Mitch Johnson to keep his same starting five. That lineup has Chris Paul at point guard, Devin Vassell at shooting guard, Harrison Barnes at small forward, Jeremy Sochan at power forward and Victor Wembanyama at center.
The coaching staff is using four players off the bench right now: Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie, Stephon Castle and Tre Jones. In five games since being moved to the bench, Champagnie has performed well. In 24.9 minutes per game, he has averaged 11.4 points while shooting 48.8% from the floor and 47.1% from three-point range.
Betting Guide: Spurs at Timberwolves
This will be the third time the Spurs and Timberwolves play this season. The Spurs won the first battle in San Antonio by a final score of 113-103. In their second matchup, which occurred two weeks ago, the Timberwolves won 106-92. Minnesota’s defense was dominant in that affair.
Tonight, the Timberwolves are favored by 6.5 points and the over/under is 215.5 points. Expect this to be another low-scoring game between these two teams. For that reason, the smart money is on the under.