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The Minnesota Timberwolves will square off with the Boston Celtics in a primetime matchup on Wednesday night, but they’ll be very shorthanded in the process. While the Timberwolves face a tall task against Brad Stevens’ squad in a matchup played at the TD Garden, they’re already expected to be without three key players.
Both of Minnesota’s point guards in Jeff Teague and Derrick Rose are ruled out with ankle injuries while Robert Covington is dealing with a knee injury. In turn, the team will roll out a new-look lineup which features a few intriguing names. This group will include point guard Tyus Jones running the show, who’s looked great as of late in the absence of both Teague and Rose.
Let’s take a look at the roster and starting lineup for the Timberwolves ahead of Wednesday’s game against Celtics, who will be without Kyrie Irving.
Timberwolves Roster & Starting Lineup vs. Celtics
*Notates expected starter
C: Karl-Anthony Towns*, Gorgui Dieng
PF: Taj Gibson*, Dario Saric, Anthony Tolliver
SF: Andrew Wiggins*, Luol Deng
SG: Josh Okogie*, James Nunnally, Jared Terrell
PG: Tyus Jones*, Jerryd Bayless
Minnesota’s lack of depth certainly jumps out here, specifically at the guard positions. Behind Jones and Josh Okogie, it’s Jerryd Bayless, who’s played in just five games due to injury since being acquired in the Jimmy Butler trade. Over that stretch, he’s played 10.4 minutes per game while averaging 2.8 points, although he’ll likely see an uptick in minutes on Wednesday.
James Nunnally has played even less, seeing 5.4 minutes of court time over 11 games with the Timberwolves this season. There’s a good chance the team could opt to go with Andrew Wiggins at shooting guard and potentially have Dario Saric at small forward with a slightly bigger lineup at times.
Timberwolves’ Potential Rotations
While we have an idea of who will get the starting nod, the minutes could be tough to gauge due to Covington joining Teague and Rose on the sidelines. Both guards missed last game against the New Orleans Pelicans while Covington played 38 minutes. The starters are all expected to see 35-plus minutes which proved to be the case against the Pelicans, as only Taj Gibson (32) fell short of that mark.
In that matchup, Okogie (19 minutes), Saric (16), Dieng (11) and Bayless (10) were the only players to receive minutes off the bench. With Okogie moving into the first five more than likely, it should mean either Tolliver, Nunnally or possibly even Deng or Terrell will get back into the rotation.
Along with that, Saric’s playing time should see a solid boost and may even approach the 30-minute mark in this game.
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