On paper, the Utah Jazz (31-30) should have every advantage Friday night.
The Minnesota Timberwolves (38-27) caught a late flight out of Portland following a road loss to the Trail Blazers on Thursday. They lost an hour on the journey. They’re without All-Star Jimmy Butler (sidelined by injury for the next month), they’re playing the second game of a back-to-back and their best three remaining players are all top 10 in minutes played this season — including Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony-Towns as the two leaders in the NBA.
Jazz coach Quin Snyder has a thought for the “fatigue” storyline: It’s cliche. And frankly, he doesn’t think it has a real effect on games.
“I think back-to-backs are overrated,” he said. “Obviously it’s a factor, but we’ve had, on our end, back-to-backs where we’ve played well and won. So I don’t think you can say, ‘A team is on a back-to-back, they’re going to be tired that way.’ I don’t think it’s the best way to prepare yourself for the game.”
Quin Snyder talks about facing the Timberwolves without Jimmy Butler, and why Karl Anthony-Towns has been such a menace when he plays the Jazz. pic.twitter.com/QhTDdxOKUX
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) March 2, 2018
Indeed, Minnesota has a 5-6 record on games where it plays the night before this season — not much tilted in either direction. And despite critics who view coach Tom Thibodeau’s overwhelming reliance on his starters as risky to their health or wearing down their legs, the Timberwolves have racked up the third-best record in the Western Conference so far this season, including two wins over the Jazz.
The roster is filled with players who have given Utah problems over the years, particularly Anthony-Towns, who averages 22 points and 12 rebounds against the Jazz during his career. So the Jazz defense will find its hands full even with Butler missing.
“I think he’s so capable of scoring from different spots on the floor,” Snyder said about Anthony-Towns. “He becomes at times a little more of a face-up guy, although he does that against everyone, too.”
The Jazz are at the back of the pack in the playoff race, two games behind Denver for the eight seed and running short on time (just 21 games left) to catch up. While Snyder is wary of counting on fatigue to be a factor, the Jazz would like to find a way to turn it to their advantage.
“That’s the plan,” Crowder said. “At the same time, they’re good for the schedule and what’s ahead. They’ll be ready to play.”
