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Scouting Report | Timberwolves vs. Cavaliers

Timberwolves vs. Cavaliers | 7:00 PM, Target Center

Where To Watch: Fox Sports North

Where to Listen 830 WCCO

It’s been a game that’s been circled on the calendar for quite some time.

Yes, LeBron James is playing. Yes, Kyrie Irving will also be in town. But the real matchup here is between Kevin Love and Andrew Wiggins, two members of what could be one of the biggest trades in NBA history.

The Wolves had some fun with #TheReturn video, which was used to hype the crowd during Wednesday’s game against the Celtics. With all jokes aside, Love was the face of Minnesota basketball for most of his six seasons with the Wolves. We’ll see what type of reaction he gets from the fans, but his accomplishments with the Wolves shouldn’t be forgotten.

Then again, he never led the Wolves to the playoffs and at the end of the day, winning is what matters most.

After a rough stretch, Cleveland looks to be back on track. The Cavs sit in fifth place in the East with a 28-20 record.

The Wolves are 8-38 overall, last place in the West.

Love is expected to meet with media members at 5 p.m. tonight. Expect plenty of content on Timberwolves.com.

LAST MEETING

The two teams last faced off on Dec. 23 in Cleveland. It was the first time Wiggins played against his the team that originally drafted him. Although the Wolves lost 125-104, Wiggins had himself a night. He finished with 27 points, shooting 9-of-16 from the field. Gorgui Dieng added 20 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Shabazz Muhammad and Thad Young scored 18 and 13 points, respectively.

Irving led Cleveland with 29 points, while James added 24.  Love finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Dion Waiters (now with Thunder) and Shawn Marion scored 19 and 11 points, respectively. Cleveland shot 12-of-24 from the three-point line in the game.

LAST TIME OUT

The Wolves are coming off of an ugly road loss on Friday night to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Wolves scored 59 points in the first half before scoring just 34 in the second.

Kevin Martin led the Wolves with 19 points off the bench. Nikola Pekovic added 18, while Wiggins finished with 15.  Dieng had yet another double-double, finishing with 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Former 76er forward Thad Young finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. He shot just 3-of-10 from the field, though. On a positive note, the Wolves did shoot 21-of-25 from the free-throw line.

The Cavs are coming off of a 101-90 home win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday. Love led Cleveland with 23 points and 10 boards. Irving added 21 points, while James scored 19. J.R. Smith continued to play well for the Cavs, finishing with 16 points (12 coming from deep). Cleveland forced 16 Sacramento turnovers and forced DeMarcus Cousins to shoot just 5-of-17.

KEY MATCHUP: ANDREW WIGGINS VS. KEVIN LOVE

No matter what happens with the final score of this game, fans will be comparing the stat lines of Andrew Wiggins and Kevin Love, the two main faces of August’s blockbluster trade.

With Wiggins, you have the future of a franchise and perhaps all of basketball. When it comes to potential, not many players have a higher ceiling than Wiggins does. And really, it’s not just potential. The kids got talent that has already been shown time-after-time this season.  He’ll almost definitely win the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January and is the leader to win the Rookie of the Year Award.

On the season, Wiggins is averaging 15.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. He’s shooting 42.9 percent form the field and 34.9 percent from the three-point line.

He’ll have the tough task of going up against James, the player he’s compared to most.

And then there’s Kevin Love, a player who is in the record books for the Timberwolves and has given a lot to Minnesota basketball during his six seasons here.

While we don’t know what the crowd reaction will be like when he’s introduced, we do know that he’s an incredibly dangerous player.

His stats in Cleveland have been a bit down, but that’s expected when playing alongside James and Irving. Love is averaging 17.2 points (lowest since 2010-11 season), 10.3 rebounds (lowest since rookie season) and 2.3 assists per game (down 2.1 from last season). He’s shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 33.2 percent form the three-point line.

It will only be natural for Love to want to light it up against his former squad. We’ll see if Wiggins and his crew can slow him down.

Cavaliers: Anderson Varejao (Achilles) is out for the season.

Wolves: Ricky Rubio (ankle), Shabazz Muhammad (oblique) and Robbie Hummel (hand) are out. Mo Williams (hip) and Zach LaVine (ankle) are questionable.

PROJECTED STARTERS 

Cavaliers: PG – Irving, SG – Smith, SF – James, PF – Love, C - Mozgov

Wolves:  PG – LaVine, SG – Wiggins, SF - Young, PF – Dieng, C - Pekovic