Vitals: Thunder at Timberwolves

Everything you need to know when Oklahoma City visits the Target Center

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:27 am

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Jan 19, 2010 8:44 PM CDT

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

Oklahoma City Thunder (23-18) at Minnesota Timberwolves (9-33)
Wednesday, January 20, 2010, 7 p.m. CST.
Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Game 42 of 82

Anticipated Starting Lineups

	Timberwolves	Thunder
PG	Jonny Flynn 14.2 PPG, 4.1 APG	Russell Westbrook 16.1 PPG, 7.5 APG
SG	Corey Brewer 12.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG	Thabo Sefolosha 6.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG
SF	Damien Wilkins 6.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG	Kevin Durant 29.1 PPG, 7.1 RPG
PF	Kevin Love 15.2 PPG, 12.3 RPG	Jeff Green 14.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG
C	Al Jefferson 18.2 PPG, 9.6 RPG	Nenad Krstic 8.2 PPG, 4.9 PRG

Injuries...
Oklahoma City: G Kevin Ollie (knee, day-to-day); F/C Nick Collins (concussion, day-to-day); G/F Kyle Weaver (shoulder, out).
Minnesota: C Ryan Hollins (illness, day-to-day).

Where to find it?
On TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma
On Radio: Thunder Radio Network

What you need to know?
There is no other way to say it, Minnesota is bad. They are 42 games into the season and have yet to reach a double-digit win total and have only held opponents under 100 points 15 times this season. But they may have started an upswing after snapping a four-game losing streak against the equally bad Philadelphia.

The Thunder won its 23rd game of the season against Atlanta, the highest win total in the past two seasons, but its record against division foes still sits at 2-2. A win over a bottom-dwelling in-conference team could set them on the right path to compete for a division title.

Who to watch?
Fifth year forward Al Jefferson is having the best season of his career. Since being traded from Boston for Kevin Garnett, his offensive production has steadily increased. Jonny Flynn has been a great contributor in his first season with the Timberwolves. He’s averaging 14.2 points per game, while dishing out 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals per contest, while playing slightly less than 30 minutes per game.

When a team boasts the NBA’s third-leading scorer, it’s hard to say that he’s not the player to watch. Kevin Durant is averaging 29.1 points per game, and if he has a game on-par with his stats, Oklahoma City should have no trouble with Minnesota. Point guard Russell Westbrook should test rookie point guard Flynn early and often and see if the young guard can keep up with his quick pace.