Scott Wachter-Imagn Images The Silver & Black clash with the TWolves for the 2nd time this month as their 4-game road trip comes to an end Not many people at the start of this season would have expected the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves to have nearly identical records as the 2024 portion of the season was coming to a close, but here they are. Coming off a 56-win season and the franchise’s first trip to the Western Conference Finals since 2004, expectations were certainly high for Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves coming into the year. They seem to have found their footing in December though and come into tonight after peeling off back to back wins over Texas’ two other teams. With plenty of season left to play, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them climb their way back up to the upper reaches of the standings. If not for 2 losses in very winnable games against the Philadelphia 76ers and on Christmas Day against the New York Knicks, the Spurs would be sitting even prettier than they are now compared to the situation the last couple of years. San Antonio is playing with house money this season, as many had them pegged to be counting lottery balls in April. Instead, they look like they’re a bit ahead of schedule, with plenty of untapped potential up and down the roster. Whether they continue to push ahead of where everyone had them remains to be seen but as 2024 comes to a close, there’s never been more reasons to be excited about the Spurs in the post-Tim Duncan years than there are right now. San Antonio Spurs (16-15) at Minnesota Timberwolves (16-14) December 29th 2024 | 7:00 PM CT Watch: | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM) Spurs Injuries: None TWolves Injuries: Luka Garza, ankle (day to day), Daishen Nix, ankle (day to day) What to watch for The Rudy Gobert - Victor Wembanyama match-up will be the one to watch every single time these two face one another. Nic Claxton did a good job making Wemby work in the win over the Brooklyn Nets Friday night, relying on his length and positioning to make things as difficult as they can be on a guy who is 7’4. Gobert, a 4x Defensive Player of the Year recipient and the most recent winner of the award, has the tools and the smarts to make Victor work just as hard. If Wemby gets the 3 going early though, it flips the match-up on its head. With Karl Anthony Towns now playing for the New York Knicks, Anthony Edwards is the undisputed center of the Timberwolves offense. His style combines athletic finishing with long range shooting, as he’s stepped up his shooting capabilities significantly during his time in the league. This season he’s taking and making more 3-pointers than he has throughout his entire career (42% shooting on nearly 10 attempts per game). Fittingly, Edwards capped off a Minnesota rally from 16-points down against the Houston Rockets Friday night with a wing 3 in the waning seconds of the 4th that ended up being the game winner. Devin Vassell hasn’t been able to crack the 15 point mark in each of his last 4 games. He hit a few huge buckets as the Spurs were pulling away in the 2nd half on Friday night, but he shot just 4/16 from the field and wasn’t out there to close the game. Things don’t get much easier tonight though, and he should expect to have his hands full matching up with Edwards. That being said, the Spurs need him to play well offensively if they want to start winning with the next level of consistency that they’re looking for. This is especially true going against a team with, at minimum, Western Conference Finals aspirations. For the Timberwolves fan’s perspective, please visit Canis Hoopus. If you’d like to, you may follow along with the game on our Twitter profile (@poundingtherock) or visit our Game Thread!