Every game is a new opportunity, and the Portland Trail Blazers look to take advantage of theirs when they face the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight in Portland.

Minnesota is coming off three double-digit wins, followed by a narrow one-point loss to Miami on Sunday, where the Wolves shot less than 40% from the field and less than 30% from deep. There is a very good chance that they will see Portland as an opportunity to be right.

Portland Trail Blazers (3-8) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (6-4) – Tue. November 12 – 7:00 PM Pacific

Watching via antenna or cable: Check out your options on the Rip City Television Network

How to watch via streaming: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass everywhere else

SBN branch: Canis Hoopus

Injuries at Trail Blazers: Matisse Thybulle (away)

Wolves injuries: NO

Portland, on the other hand, is coming off five losses with a win against the depleted Pelicans in the middle…but a bad team losing games isn’t the story. Head coach Chauncey Billups berated them in the media, saying they were losers if they slept well after Sunday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. He called the loss “shameful” and that “they were all worthless” is the story. While the team largely struck the right tone during yesterday’s practice — about sticking together, that Billups’ anger was justified and that the conversation between players and coaches was productive — the proof will be in the pudding of their play on the field (more on this in the What to look out for section).

Tonight is also the first tournament game of the year for the Blazers, officially renamed the Emirates NBA Cup (or simply NBA Cup). With it comes the revised court design similar to, albeit toned down from last year, and a chance for Portland to win in West Group A, which includes itself, Minnesota, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Sacramento Kings and the Houston Rockets.

Along with the emotional drama and NBA Cup implications, we see Portland’s centers taking on an elite defensive anchor in Rudy Gobert, and Portland’s young wings looking for ways to contain the red-hot Anthony Edwards. Ant has taken another step forward this year, including taking nearly 12 threes per game and hitting them at a 46% clip – excellent Steph Curry numbers.

Do the Blazers have a chance? Or will Minnesota take their superior talent, continuity and structure to Oregon and stroll away with an easy win? Tune in to find out!

Questions from readers

Before most games, we ask all of you to improve our previews by asking questions for us to answer! Keep your eyes peeled for posts like this to add your questions and (possibly) have them answered here in these previews!

From pokermonk:

Who will be the acting coach now…oh wait, it hasn’t happened yet??

…I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about…

From Tiparillo:

Who makes more threes, Ant Edwards or the Blazers?

The Blazers…but you made me look and remind myself that Portland went 4-42 deep against the Grizzlies, which, when you first look at it, seems like a typo or a joke. Unfortunately it is neither. If the Blazers have another such appearance, look for an all-players meeting prior to the all-players meeting, which will help coordinate a future all-players meeting.

From Kill-Gore-Trout

Will Anthony Edwards put Anfernee Simons over his knee and break Simons in half or will it just be a regular defeat?

There is definitely a theme here today! And rightly so. In any case, Simons will (probably) not be asked to guard Edwards as long as Toumani Camara is on the field.

From williamswonder:

Lewis and Clark killed 36 wolves and 43 grizzly bears during their famous vacation. You might conclude that this is a harbinger of a good hunt, but the recent Grizzly outcome indicates a potential karmic debt that has not yet been paid. How do we clear the debts and move forward unencumbered?

Finally a SERIOUS question! The only way forward is for the Moda Center staff to light the Eastern Oregon sage from the rafters and let the soft smoke flow down as they play Lofi Chillhop throughout the area during every dead ball situation.

From The Mind of Petteri Koponen:

Give us a reason to watch this match.

Read what follows, because a game like this has us all wondering…

What to pay attention to:

After such a morally deflating loss, How do the Blazers bounce back?? We know this team isn’t built to win, and we know there’s a good chance some of the veterans on the roster won’t be here next spring. The players know that TOO, and it affects their play. Blazers reporter Casey Holdahl said yesterday’s practice was “as much about clearing the air” as anything else, that Robert Williams III referred to an “elephant in the room,” and that Toumani Camara talked about importance of honesty in a team or team. in a family.

If Portland comes out flat again, expect more behind-the-scenes reporting on how the team is handling the situation they find themselves in. Yes, they are highly competitive elite athletes who are well compensated, but sometimes we forget that they are. People too… and people who find themselves in a strange or uncertain situation can react emotionally. Navigating an 82-game season is as much about taking care of your mind as it is about taking care of your body.

About the opponent:

Chris Hine of the Minnesota Star Tribune writes that the Wolves had a bit of postgame drama after falling close to the Miami Heat:

Coach Chris Finch, who normally takes about 10 minutes before addressing the media, rushed into the team’s news conference room before most reporters could get there. Once he did, Finch offered more than one mea culpa for a series of decisions he made that contributed to the Wolves’ loss, particularly on the game’s final two possessions. “I didn’t quite understand it,” Finch said. ‘Tonight, as I was going down the stretch, I didn’t really understand it. I told you we wouldn’t always get it right, but yes, if I had to do it again, I would definitely do it differently. Anthony Edwards subsequently refused to speak to reporters after being asked to do so by the media (players face fines if they consistently fail to speak to the media when asked). But before he left, he complained loud enough for reporters in the locker room to hear about the Heat’s shape-shifting zone defense.

The Athletic’s Zach Harper (subscription required) took a look at Edward’s aforementioned three-point shooting and compared him to… who else… Steph Curry:

During the first week of the regular season, everyone seemed to notice that Anthony Edwards was shooting a ton of three-pointers – an absurd number. The Timberwolves superstar made 40 three-pointers in the first three games. I have to admit, I dismissed the people who defended this decision by saying, “Well, he’s making 37.5 percent of them,” which is above the league average of 35-36 percent in most seasons. Sure, that’s good, but we had to wait for a larger sample size to see if he makes good decisions. About that… It turns out: He’s shooting even better on 3s after 10 games. Edwards has made 118 three-pointers in the first ten games – 118! For non-math students, that is 11.8 attempts per night. That’s really high. Only Steph Curry and James Harden have shot that many per game for a season (they both did it twice). After 10 games, we can truly say Edwards is shooting three-pointers just like Steph. That’s not hyperbole. That’s math.