Memphis Grizzlies: 3 keys to victory vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

The Memphis Grizzlies need to keep Karl-Anthony Towns in check

Karl-Anthony Towns has not had the greatest season of his career. He has still been the best player on the Timberwolves, but his numbers have regressed pretty significantly from a season ago. It’s not his fault — just the repercussions of being on a terrible team in a competitive league.

That said, he’s still a really good player. Teams haven’t beaten the Timberwolves by letting KAT roam free around the court and score at will. In Friday night’s game, Jonas Valanciunas will have to step up on defense for a thin Grizzlies frontcourt.

Memphis won’t have to worry much about defending the 3-pointer against the Timberwolves as a whole, as they rank 26th in 3-point percentage. They will, however, have to keep their eye on Towns, who has continued to shoot well from deep at 40% this season.

If Memphis can handle this objective, it’ll be up to rookie Anthony Edwards, Malik Beasley, and De’Angelo Russell to guide their team to a victory. None of these guys have shown that they are capable of bringing their team wins, so this is a very important part of the game to keep an eye on.