Scott Wachter-Imagn Images In a second matchup between NBA Cup also-rans, the Spurs face the Timberwolves Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much. When the NBA created the NBA Cup tournament, they decided that the first two rounds would count as regular season games, so teams that didn’t make the tournament also had to play each other for two games while the qualifying eight teams played for the cup. Tonight’s game is the second game between NBA Cup also-rans for the Spurs, the first was the comeback win over the Trail Blazers on Friday night. The Silver and Black faces the Minnesota Timberwolves, who took a step down in talent when they traded away Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks for Julius Randle and considerations. Some kind of move was eventually needed, because of Minnesota’s unsustainable salary cap issues, but it remains to be seen whether they could have done better than getting Randle, who is a good scorer, but not on the same level with Towns, talent-wise. These teams previously met in an early season match on November 2, when the Spurs had a rest advantage over the Wolves on the second night of a back-to-back and won 113-103. Both teams played on Saturday night, with the Timberwolves defeating the Lakers by 10 the same night as the Spurs comeback over the Blazers. The Spurs might be missing several players again tonight, with Collins listed as doubtful and Stephon Castle listed as questionable. Keldon Johnson is still out with a strained calf, but Tre Jones is listed as questionable on the injury report, and he might come in handy if Chris Paul decides to have another extended philosophical discussion with the officials on the court. Both teams have similar records, so tonight’s game should be a good measuring stick for the improving Spurs, as they linger in the standings near the play-in range. They could end up advancing with a win tonight into the top 10, of drifting back out of the western conference play-in ranks with a loss. Let’s watch and find out. Pounding the Rock on Playback Game Prediction: Chris Paul will shake hands with the referee and be assessed a technical foul for squeezing too hard. One final word: Go Spurs GOOOOOO!! San Antonio Spurs vs Minnesota TimberwolvesDecember 15, 2024 | 6:00 PM CTStreaming: NBA League PassTV: Fanduel Sports Southwest Reminder: It is against site policy to post links to illegal streams in the comments, but it is not against site policy to exchange email addresses, for instance.