DRAFTKINGS NBA SHOWDOWN

JIMMY’S KNEE

By Muntradamus

BEAST DOME NATION.

My Target is not win 1 of these tournaments. It is to win 20 of these tournaments before the NBA Season is over. Every night is a new night for the opportunity to get the BEAST expectations on what we can expect for the game.

Tonight we have the Minnesota Timberwolves traveling to Sacramento to play the Kings. Before we jump into the game, let us take a moment to first of all wish Jimmy Butler a healthy recovery. As well as blame Tom Thib for being one of the most overrated coaches who does not know how to treat a human.

Derrick Rose was playing 37+ Minutes a night for the Bulls when Tom was the coach, tore his knee up.

Jimmy Butler was playing 37+ Minutes a night for T-Wolves while Tom was the coach, tore his knee.

NBA Coaches that play NBA players to the ground is great for Fantasy, but it is not great for reality. While Butler has been logging 37+ Minutes/game season for the last 5 years, part of that being coached by Thib while he was in Chicago. The NBA is a game where you can simply not put that much wear and tear on any star. Especially with how much talent there is in the league today, while Jamal Crawford is getting all he can handle at 15-23 minutes a night, the T-Wolves completely neglected Shabazz Muhammad who does have some big time scoring potential.

Because of Tom’s game management for his star, and other stars. There is a reason Thib will likely never be a Championship Coach. To make matters worst, Jimmy Butler/KAT/Andrew Wiggins all rank within the Top 15.

With that being said.

The T’Wolves goto Sacramento tonight. Life without Jimmy Butler is not an easy one, but a road the T-Wolves have no choice but to take. With no Butler, Teague/Wiggins are far more dominant handling the ball than the past. The 1st/2nd/3rd option is to find KAT downlow. When KAT is seeing a lot of defensive attention, Taj will be open for his classic mid-range jumper, a player who gets a boost in FG attempts with no Jimmy. The Wolves do not rely on their bench often, but Jamal Crawford will be splitting time with Bjelica, who is really more of a role player than anything. Tyus Jones will give the occasional rest to Jeff Teague who is now a Top 10 Fantasy NBA PG, while Dieng gives rests to both Taj & KAT.

The matchup I am most looking forward to is KAT against WCS, players that were together at Kentucky now facing up on the main stage. KAT is a much better player and that is why he was drafted #1 Overall while WCS was #6.

Jeff Teague 16 Shots. 22 Points. 6 Rebounds. 9 Assists. 2 Steals

Andrew Wiggins. 21 Shots. 27 Points. 8 Rebounds. 3 Assists. 2 Steals.

Taj Gibson. 15 Shots. 17 Points. 12 Rebounds. 2 Assists. 2 Blocks.

KAT. 25 Shots. 32 Points. 18 Rebounds. 5 Assists. 3 Steals + Blocks.

The Kings are in an interesting spot of their season. They are playing teams very strong at home, almost beating OKC after the break, but they have nothing to play for. Vince Carter is just trying to stay healthy to play with the Raptors next year, Zach Randolph in is in a committee with Kosta + Ska + WCS all hurting eachother for minutes. While WCS + Ska seem to be the future, the Kings seem fine playing some of their past. All in all, their big man rotation is very inconsistent and neither of them can really play any D against the Wolves bigs. D’Aron Fox is the future and does have nice potential on him, but a matchup against Jeff Teague is not going to be easy as Teague is known for his defense. Fox will be aggressive, but that does not guarantee results.

The player I am most interested in for the Kings is Buddy Hield. Buddy comes off the bench, but he shoots as if he is the best shooter in the Western Conference. Buddy is going to make a lot of money for a long time in his NBA Career with how solid that 3 Point shot is. I would put money on it everyday of the week, and with the Kings starters not really having any chance to keep up with the Wolves starters, it will be up to Hield off the bench to keep the Kings in this game.

Regardless of Buddy going off or not, the Kings will likely fall short to the Wolves. Even without Jimmy Butler, the Wolves are still a playoff caliber team as Andrew Wiggins + KAT are both All-Star NBA talents, while Teague and Gibson are perfect veteran star role players to fill the gap.

WOLVES 113

KINGS 87