It will be the first NBA game between Victor Wembanyama and fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert, who is anchoring a Minnesota team that’s showing tremendous growth.
SAN ANTONIO — The Spurs are hoping to start the NBA’s new In-Season Tournament with a Cinderella win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are rapidly ascending to new heights.
San Antonio has tasted some success in the first few weeks of Victor Wembanyama’s rookie season, but they’ve shown their youth in a rough three-game skid. The most recent was a drubbing at the hands of the Knicks that had the Madison Square Garden crowd chanting “overrated” at the French teenager in his debut there. Every game is a chance to get it right, and every time Wemby steps on the floor you’re likely to see something special. The Spurs will be looking forward to that opportunity Friday night on their home floor, but they’re facing a team that looks like a surging dark horse early in the season.
Denver and Boston are two title favorites, and Minnesota has beaten them both in this four-game winning streak. In his fourth year in the league, former first pick Anthony Edwards has leapt toward two-way superstardom and played at an All-NBA level. KAT hasn’t shot the ball well but he’s still putting up 18 and 8. Mike Conley has 30 assists and a single turnover on the season. Minnesota boasts the league’s top defense with Jaden McDaniels flying around the wing and Rudy Gobert making that widely-panned trade look less and less laughable by the day.
“It’ll be a good test for us, they’re playing really well,” said Doug McDermott before the game.
Recall how clunky the new-look Timberwolves were last season as they figured out how their unique pieces fit together. They went 42-40 and lost to the Nuggets in the first round as questions swirled about roster construction and the franchise’s future finances. With some time, tweaks, and internal development, a roster that looks largely the same appears to have a genuine chance at making it past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. It’s a good reminder that these things take time, a reminder a lot of folks tuning in to Spurs games may need to hear.
Speaking of progress and how quickly things change, remember three years ago when Gobert was in the midst of his run of three Defensive Player of the Year awards and some skinny French teenager who was taller than him gave him some KD-esque buckets in a viral video?
Wembanyama is the centerpiece of San Antonio’s plan to grow into a perennial title contender. After he dropped 38 and 10 to lead the Spurs to a win over Durant and the Suns, hopes are high that the timeline may move more quickly than originally anticipated.
This brings a level of interest and expectations that have been absent from the Alamo City for years. Each gameday brings hope for another masterclass. Each commercial break lasts forever. It all feels so meaningful already.
That atmosphere collides with the league’s new plan to drum up excitement for regular season games with the In-Season Tournament. Each conference is divided into three random groups of five teams who play each other in normally-scheduled regular season games during the group stage. The best team from each group and a wildcard team from each conference advance to the tournament in Las Vegas later in the year.
“We approach every game the same, but obviously it’s a different type of game,” said Tre Jones. “It’s the first time for us but also for the NBA, so there’s definitely a little more juice here. I expect it to spike up even more when we get there and see the floor and everything.”
The courts look crazy, for better or for worse in some cases, and the Spurs are set to debut their Hemisfair-themed jerseys. The Timberwolves are favored by 6.5, but San Antonio has a few things going for them as they hope for some November Madness.
All five of Minnesota’s wins have come at home, and their opponents are shooting an unsustainably low 31% from deep to start the season. The Spurs have struggled to connect from deep in their last few games, but they’ve also been without Devin Vassell as he recovered from a groin injury. He played limited minutes in the loss to New York, but should be good to go Friday night and he’ll bring some defense and shooting that has been sorely missed during this losing streak.
The biggest area for improvement is three-point defense, where the Spurs are giving up the second-most attempts, the most makes, and the highest percentage to opposing teams. Vassell and Jeremy Sochan will be tested against Ant, and Minnesota will be able to throw Gobert and McDaniels and other physical defenders at Wemby.
The season is about as young as this Spurs roster, and there will be ups and downs ahead whether they can pull off the upset in their first tournament game. They probably won’t cut down the nets this year, but that won’t stop them from chasing after more shining moments in the first steps of the long journey.
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