The Minnesota Timberwolves feel as confident as they have all season ahead of their NBA Cup West Group A matchup against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night in Minneapolis.
It all starts on defense, players and coaches agree.
The Timberwolves will go for their fourth victory in a row when they tip off in NBA Cup group stage action.
“Our sense of urgency and our focus on the little things has been better,” Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert said about his team’s improved play on defense. “We realize that, for us, it’s a non-negotiable if we want to achieve our goal.
“This is something that we have to do every night, regardless of who is on the floor.”
The Timberwolves have won five of their past six games, and in those five victories they have not allowed more than 117 points in a game. The only hiccup during the recent stretch was a 137-114 loss on the road against the New York Knicks.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said everyone has contributed to the recent success.
“It’s just gone up — challenging Jaden (McDaniels) and Rudy to be the backbone of our defense,” Finch said. “‘Ant’ (Anthony Edwards) has been really good. Julius (Randle) has been good.
“Everyone’s just kind of taking a step forward. We’ve got to rebound better. We’ve got to quit fouling. And when we do that, we can take the next step.”
Meanwhile, the Kings are looking to find their footing after losing four straight games. Sacramento is coming off its worst loss of the season after the Atlanta Hawks drubbed them 133-100 on Wednesday night.
Kings coach Doug Christie challenged his players to fight harder going forward.
“We’re going to find people who want to compete, period,” Christie said. “You’ve got to look in the mirror. We’re going to show each individual film, and if that’s your compete level, that’s unacceptable, period.
“We’ve got to compete. … When you play a team like that, you’ve got to compete, period, and if you don’t, that will be the result every single time.”
The Kings will have to find a way to slow down Edwards, who is averaging a team-high 27.1 points per game for the Timberwolves. He is shooting 50.4% from the field and 50% from 3-point range this season.
Randle ranks second with 25.4 points per game for Minnesota, and McDaniels rounds out the top three scorers at 18.4 points per contest.
Sacramento’s top scorer is Zach LaVine, who is averaging 23.9 points while shooting 51.9% overall and 42.3% from beyond the arc. LaVine missed the Kings’ most recent game because of a thigh injury, and has since been removed from the injury report.
DeMar DeRozan is next with 19.2 points per game for the Kings, and Domantas Sabonis is averaging a double-double with 15.3 points and 12.3 rebounds.
This will be the second meeting in six days between the Timberwolves and Kings.
Last Sunday, Minnesota pulled away for a 144-117 win on the road. Edwards scored 26 points to lead the Timberwolves, and LaVine scored 26 to lead the Kings.
