Nets at Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves have a clean slate after finally getting rid of disgruntled All-Star Jimmy Butler, and will try to forge ahead with a new mix when they host the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. Butler had been demanding a trade since preseason and finally got his wish when the Timberwolves shipped him to Philadelphia for forwards Robert Covington and Dario Saric, guard Jerryd Bayless and a future second-round pick.
The deal comes on the tail end of Minnesota's 0-5 road trip, which was capped by Friday's 121-110 loss at Sacramento. "We've got to change it," coach and team president Tom Thibodeau told the media after the defeat, signaling a massive shift on the horizon. "We go home [Monday] and we have to get right, so we have two days to get ready and we have to change." The Nets had won three straight, including the first two games of their four-game road trip, before falling 116-100 at Golden State on Saturday. Joe Harris scored a season-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting but Brooklyn was unable to slow down the Warriors after allowing an average of 96.3 points during the winning streak.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), FSN (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE NETS (6-7): Aside from Harris, Brooklyn's starters combined for 22 points on 8-of-24 shooting in the loss to the Warriors, while backup guards Shabazz Napier and Spencer Dinwiddie had 14 points apiece. The setback came a day after a dramatic win at Denver and the team recognized the challenge of playing a team like Golden State on the second night of a back-to-back. "I wouldn't put anything on fatigue," Harris told reporters. "I think everybody was feeling good after a great win. We came in playing the right way, moving the ball. A lot of it is just [the Warriors]. They're a great team, great on both sides of the ball, and they put us in tough situations. Defensively, we force teams into the mid-range, but they were, to a man, unconscious."
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (4-9): Minnesota is now unquestionably led by center Karl-Anthony Towns, who did his best to carry the load with 39 points and 19 rebounds at Sacramento. He will get some help along the front line with Saric, a 24-year-old who averaged 13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds in 172 games with the 76ers over two-plus seasons. Covington has started 160 games with Philadelphia over the same span and is making a career-best 39 percent of his 3-point attempts this season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Dinwiddie scored at least 12 points in eight straight games despite playing more than 30 minutes just once in that span.
2. Timberwolves PG Derrick Rose is averaging 24.3 points over his last three contests.
3. The teams split a pair of meetings last season and Minnesota has won three straight matchups at home.