76ers vs. Timberwolves: Key Talking Points

Things to watch in Sixers matchup vs. Timberwolves

The Philadelphia 76ers have little time to dwell on their overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They quickly hit the road for a meeting with the Timberwolves in the second leg of a back-to-back. 

Minnesota is one of the hottest teams in the league right now, recently claiming the top spot in the Western Conference standings. led by Anthony Edwards, they come out of the gates with a record of 10-3. 

Here are some things to keep an eye on as the Sixers look to bounce back after a tough loss on Tuesday night. 

Will the Sixers be ready for another physical matchup?

Aside from it being a home/road back-to-back, the Sixers got dealt a bad hand in terms of their opponents. The Cavaliers are a young and physical team, and Minnesota plays a similar type of style. 

With their abundance of size and length, the Timberwolves have the top defense in the league. This leaves a daunting task for the Sixers as they look to avoid another two-game losing skid. 

Coming off a physical overtime matchup last night, how the Sixers look after having to play and travel will be a key storyline to follow. 

Sixers facing another lob-heavy offense 

Last night, defending the pick-and-roll was a weak point for the Sixers. There were countless possessions where Jarrett Allen or one of the Cavs' big snuck backdoor and caught a wide-open lob for a dunk. 

Looking at the Timberwolves, this is something the Sixers will surely see a lot of again. Mike Conley is a skilled playmaker and can operate in the pick-and-roll with Rudy Gobert. He too, is a lob threat, and the Sixers will have to adjust. 

Minnesota already has enough firepower with Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns. If the Sixers allow Gobert to be impactful on offense with easy lobs, it could result in another long night for them. 

Tobias Harris taking advantage of another mismatch 

One thing that didn't get talked about much in the Sixers' matchup with the Cavs was the play of Tobias Harris. He had another quietly good game, scoring 23 points on 53% shooting from the field. 

Similar to Cleveland, Minnesota deploys a two-big lineup with Gobert and Towns. This should allow the veteran forward to capitalize on a mismatch once again. As a modern power forward, Harris should be able to attack Towns, who is used to defending bigs. 

The Timberwolves are going to want to send both bodies at Joel Embiid around the rim. Opening the door for Harris to impact the game like he did against the Cavs. Either the defense will sag off him and give him open looks, or he can stretch them out and make it tough to wall off Embiid. 

Harris has had a strong start to the season, and could be a big X-factor for the Sixers in this matchup.