The Minnesota Timberwolves missed out on D’Angelo Russell this past offseason, and he’s been making them pay the price for that mistake.
The Golden State Warriors have won seven games this season. However, because of the terrific play of D’Angelo Russell, they are 2-0 against the Minnesota Timberwolves which is ironic given their activity this past offseason.
Russell was targeted by Minnesota this offseason. Before the Wolves had cleared the space for a max-value player, Russell has already agreed to a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors, sending Kevin Durant to Brooklyn.
The Wolves didn’t move quick enough, and he’s making them pay.
In their second matchup, Russell put up a game-high 30 points. He notched 30 on just 18 shots, making five threes and going 9-for-10 from the free-throw line. Burks also helped as he added 25 points.
This is currently tied for Russell’s fourth-highest scoring performance this season. His first was also against the Timberwolves who have proven to have no answer for the 23-year-old superstar guard.
In the two team’s first matchup, Russell put up 52 points. It was arguably the best performance of his career, and he continues to take the reigns of this offense as the Warriors struggle to stay competitive in the bulk of games.
He’s averaging a career-high this season, and although trade talks will continue to rumble, Russell has been doing his best to prove he’s valuable with the Warriors. Russell is averaging over 22 points per game in his fifth season in the league.
Russell is hitting his stride since returning from injury, and they’ll need him at his best against the Houston Rockets on Christmas. The Rockets will be coming in looking for a blowout victory given how Golden State ended their season last year.
It’ll be on Russell to make sure that doesn’t happen. However, with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both out for the distant future, don’t be shocked to see this game get out of hand early.