WOLVES GAMEDAY
at Philadelphia 76ers, Wells Fargo Center, 6 p.m. Wednesday
TV; radio: BSN; iHeartRadio app
Stats and analytics: Tap here.
Odds: 76ers by 3.5
Pregame reading: The Wolves want to correct their slow starts to games.
Chris Hine’s preview:
Opening bell: The Wolves conclude this two-game trip of Eastern Conference opponents in Philadelphia where they have won the last two seasons. Then they’ll head home for just their second back-to-back of the season and take on the Lakers at home on Thursday.
Watch him: Joel Embiid didn’t play in the teams’ first meeting on Nov. 22, and his absence paved the way for an easy Wolves win at home. The reigning MVP leads the league in scoring with 34.4 points per game, is fifth in rebounds with 11.8 and has six assists per game.
Injuries: Nicolas Batum is out for the 76ers because of a right hamstring injury and Marcus Morris (illness) is questionable. The Wolves are healthy.
Forecast: Embiid will test the Wolves defense like few other players can. Can the Wolves effectively guard him with just Karl-Anthony Towns or Rudy Gobert? Or will they have to double team him, leaving the potential for Tyrese Maxey to shred them. Against Nikola Jokic, the Wolves opted to have Towns guard Jokic while Gobert cut off lanes to the rim for other Denver players. Unlike most teams, the Wolves have the size to contend with Embiid and potentially protect the rim if they want to turn him into a distributor.
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