Uncommon Knowledge
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Veteran NBA forward T.J. Warren has just inked a second 10-day contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team announced in a press release. The deal will keep him in Minnesota through March 25th. Warren was initially added on his first 10-day deal earlier this month, as essentially an emergency rotation addition to help cushion the blow of losing All-Star Minnesota power forward Karl-Anthony Towns.
On Tuesday, Towns went under the knife to address a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee. Per an earlier Timberwolves press statement, the seven-footer out of Kentucky was expected to have the knee reappraised four weeks from the initial procedure. Though he will not be back in time for this final stretch of Minnesota’s regular season, the wording of the statement seems to indicate that there’s a chance he is back when the club heads into the playoffs.
At 45-21, the Timberwolves are currently the third seed in the Western Conference. The club is currently just 1.5 contests behind the top-seeded Denver Nuggets (47-20), and just one full game behind the 46-20 Oklahoma City Thunder, the West’s second seed. Warren has been a key part of the club’s frontcourt rotation off the bench. Big man Naz Reid has been brought in as the Timberwolves’ KAT replacement in their first five.
He was dusted off by the Timberwolves this month after not being able to find a landing place at any other time this season. The 6’8″ North Carolina State product, still just 30, was selected at the end of the NBA draft lottery in 2014 by the Phoenix Suns, with the No. 14 pick. He developed into a prolific scorer by his fourth season with Phoenix. Across 65 contests in 2017-18, he averaged 19.6 points on 49.8% shooting from the floor, 5.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, one steal and 0.6 blocks. Warren finished among the top 25 vote-getters league-wide for Most Improved Player honors.
Warren was flipped from Phoenix to the Indiana Pacers in the summer of 2019 for cash. He continued his high-scoring tear with Indiana. Warren evolved into being a lethal three-level scorer during that first Pacers season, averaging a career-most 19.8 points on .536/.403/.819 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.5 blocks per bout across 67 contests (out of 73 during a pandemic-abbreviated season). The emergent wing was honored on the NBA’s All-Bubble First Team while averaging 31 points in eight bubble contests during the season’s 2020 COVID-19 era Orlando Disneyworld restart.
That’s when the trouble started. Warren has been beset by the injury bug for several years. He incurred a left navicular stress fracture that required surgery early in the 2020-21 season, missing all but four games across the ensuing two seasons. He joined a star-laden Brooklyn Nets squad, led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal in 2022, and was flipped back to the Suns as part of the Durant trade near that season’s deadline.
Post-injury, Warren may never be the explosive athlete and dynamic scorer he was just a few years ago, but in limited minutes it seems like he can still contribute to a winning program. In his four bouts with Minnesota thus far this year, Warren is averaging 4.8 points on 47.4% shooting from the floor, two rebounds and 0.8 dimes a night. His new deal will carry him through the club’s next five games. If Minnesota wants to keep him around after this agreement expires, it will need to sign him to a rest-of-season contract.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
The Suns and the Timberwolves have shown up to the match, but their offenses sure haven’t. The Suns have jumped out to a 61-56 lead against the Timberwolves.
The Suns entered the game with three straight losses and they’re well on their way to making it four. Can they turn things around, or will the Timberwolves hand them another defeat? Only time will tell.
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Phoenix Suns
Regular Season Records: Minnesota 56-26, Phoenix 49-33
Current Series Standings: Phoenix 0, Minnesota 3
The Suns will be in front of their home fans on Sunday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-court advantage. They will fight it out against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a Western Conference playoff contest at 9:30 p.m. ET at Footprint Center. The Suns are staggering into the matchup hobbled by three consecutive losses, while the Timberwolves will skip in buoyed by three consecutive wins.
While the experts predicted the Suns would be headed into the match after a victory, that’s not how things played out against the Timberwolves on Friday. The game between the Suns and the Timberwolves wasn’t particularly close, with the Suns falling 126-109. Phoenix was down 95-73 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.
The Timberwolves can attribute much of their success to Anthony Edwards, who almost dropped a double-double on 36 points and nine rebounds. Rudy Gobert was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 19 points and 14 rebounds.
This is a must-win for the Suns as the Timberwolves are a game away from taking the series. Check back here after the game to see if the Suns can force a Game 7 or if the Timberwolves leave them behind.
Minnesota is a slight 1.5-point favorite against Phoenix, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Timberwolves as a 1-point favorite.
The oddsmakers are predicting a defensive showdown and set the over/under low at 211 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Phoenix has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Minnesota.
On Sunday evening, the Phoenix Suns will host the Minnesota Timberwolves in Arizona for Game 4 of their first-round playoff series.
For the game, both teams have announced their injury reports (updated as of 3:30 Eastern Time).
The Timberwolves have listed Kyle Anderson as questionable and no one else is on their injury report.
Meanwhile, the Suns will be without Damion Lee, while Grayson Allen is listed as questionable.
The Timberwolves have a 3-0 lead in the series, and most recently won by a score of 126-109 (also in Arizona on Friday).
All-Star guard Anthony Edwards led the way with 36 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals while shooting 12/23 from the field and 1/5 from the three-point range in 43 minutes of playing time.
Bradley Beal led the Suns with 28 points, four rebounds and four assists while shooting 10/19 from the field and 6/11 from the three-point range in 43 minutes of playing time.
Game 5 of the series will be on Tuesday evening at the Target Center in Minnesota.
Whoever wins the series will advance to the second round and face off against either the Denver Nuggets or the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Timberwolves are the third seed and are coming off a season where they lost to the Denver Nuggets in the first round (in five games).
As for the Suns, they are the sixth seed, and are coming off a season where they lost to the Nuggets in the second round (in six games).
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
— Impressive overall athlete who is quick, agile and has good change of direction, giving him the potential to be an effective pass-rusher in the NFL.
— Works to get on an edge when bull-rushing and has a nice swim move as a counter off the bull.
— Keeps his legs moving through contact as a pass-rusher and has a high motor to help get coverage sacks.
— Decent bend with a flexible lower half to help turn the corner at the top of the rush.
— Can use his quickness and athleticism to make offensive linemen miss against the run.
— Use of hands as a pass-rusher needs work. Drops his hands and doesn’t play the offensive tackle’s hands well, which is currently limiting his pass-rush arsenal.
— Needs to finish pass-rush moves with a more violent rip to get clean wins.
— Isn’t physical at the point of attack as a run defender. Lacks the strength to hold his ground against one-on-one blocks from good competition.
— Subpar block recognition, which can lead to him getting reached.
— 13 G, 38 TOT, 8 SK, 16 TFL, 2 PD
— 3-star recruit in the 2019 class, per 247Sports
— Transferred to UCLA from North Texas ahead of the 2022 season
— Twin brother, Grayson, also is an edge-rusher for UCLA, UNT transfer and NFL draft prospect
Gabriel Murphy has the potential to develop into an effective third-down rusher in the NFL. His athleticism and bend are apparent on film, which helped him win in college and be an effective looper in line games.
However, he does need to improve his use of hands to develop a go-to move or two. Murphy currently struggles with the accuracy and timing of his initial chops to begin his moves, making it difficult for him to “defeat the hands and defeat the man.” But the movement skills are there for him to develop a nasty stick move and build on his overall arsenal.
Against the run, the UCLA product relies on his quickness and agility to make offensive linemen miss. That can work occasionally, but more athletic and patient offensive linemen will be able to stay in front of him and push him around. He even struggles to hold ground against good blocking tight ends and may never be a three-down player in the NFL.
Schematically, Murphy would be best as a standup outside linebacker who can contribute on passing downs.
GRADE: 6.4 (High-Level Developmental Prospect — 5th Round)
PRO COMPARISON: Cameron Goode
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