Milwaukee Bucks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Preview: Bucks Look for Border Battle Boost

On the heels of a 115-106 loss to the Chicago Bulls, the Milwaukee Bucks welcome their other border sharing neighbor to town. The Minnesota Timberwolves arrive on a five game winning streak and have their sights set on adding another win against a reeling Bucks squad.

Bucks Update

MIlwaukee has dropped five of their last seven contests, including two losses to the Bulls, and need to right the ship quick as their schedule begins to pick up in quality over the coming weeks. Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to impress, tallying 11 straight games with scoring 25 or more points. He has averaged 30 points over that same 11 game span and averaged 11 trips to the free throw line per game. The other KEG party members, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton, have averaged 19 and 23 points over their last seven game, respectively. Unfortunately, neither have been effective from long range as they are both hovering around 30 percent made three-pointers.

Player to Watch: John Henson

Henson’s match-up against Karl-Anthony Towns will be one to watch when the Bucks are on the defensive end. Towns has been excellent offensively and Henson has shown that he can hold his own against scoring big men. It will be interesting to see if Henson can take advantage of Towns’ porous defense tonight. The former Tar Heel has averaged 10 points over his last seven games.

Timberwolves Update

Minnesota is riding high on a five game winning with their most recent victory coming last night against the Denver Nuggets. It was a 128-125 overtime thriller in the Twin Cities. The Timberwolves are 2-3 in the second game of a back-to-back, with all three of those losses coming on the road. Currently, Minnesota is sitting in fourth place in the Western Conference standings. Their rise into the top half of the conference has not come as a surprise considering their off-season acquisitions.

Player to Watch: Jimmy Butler

The former Marquette great will play in his final game at the BMO Harris Bradley Center tonight. The three-time All-Star has not missed a beat since getting traded to Minnesota in the off-season. Butler is averaging 31 points during Minnesota’s five game winning streak, while also converting on over 90 percent of his free throw attempts. The Butler and Middleton match-up could be one where both players trade buckets on multiple possessions.