Minnesota Timberwolves

Timberwolves Can Take Over All-Star Weekend

Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports

Without even having a player step on the court Sunday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a chance to take over NBA All-Star Weekend in Toronto.

Following the Celebrity Game on Friday night, the Rising Stars Challenge will feature three members of the Timberwolves roster, with Zach LaVine and Karl-Anthony Towns running with the U.S. Team and Andrew Wiggins representing Canada for the World Team. Up until an injury to Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic, Minnesota led the event with three players (Trey Lyles* of the Jazz replaces Mirotic, bumping the Utah contingent to three).

KAT has a great opportunity to be the focal point in the paint throughout the game. While it’d be better if the World Team had equally talented big men on the roster, it’s a chance for the rest of the NBA fan base to be exposed to Town’s talents. LaVine will have to battle a handful of other talented first- and second-year guards, but should be on the receiving end of a number of lob opportunities. Considering the U.S. Team roster makeup, there should be a number of chances to see a lot of run-and-gun small ball throughout the game:

Unfortunately for Wiggins, the World Team doesn’t have the same pop as their U.S. counterpart. Other than Kristaps Porzingis and Emmanuel Mudiay, Wiggins is the World’s only real scoring threat. On a roster that’s very frontcourt heavy, a complete opposite from the U.S. makeup and with Mudiay the only real showcase talent in the backcourt, look for Wiggins, the 2015 Rising Stars Challenge MVP, to be the focal point for the World’s offensive attack. Unfortunately for Canadian hoops fans, Wiggins has been invited/voted/accepted/offered to compete in only one of the events during the All-Star Weekend, so here’s hoping that he makes the most of his time under the spotlight.

*Shout out to the NBA offices for adding Lyles to the game, adding a second Canadian to the weekend festivities.

On Saturday evening, KAT will once again be an active participant in All-Star Weekend, as for the first time big men will take part in the Skills Challenge. Along with DeMarcus Cousins, Draymond Green and Anthony Davis, Towns will compete with a quartet of guards in the ball handling/passing/shooting obstacle course event.

While many will look at the Three-Point Contest as the main competition on Saturday evening with the Splash Brothers as event favorites, LaVine will look to defend his Slam Dunk Contest crown, and by all accounts he’s the heavy favorite heading into the event. Fans may have likened Aaron Gordon to Blake Griffin when the Magic forward entered the league, but he’s yet to live up to the lofty standards. Andre Drummond could be the 2016 version of Shawn Kemp but with less flair, and Will Barton might very well be the underdog:

Sadly for fans in the great white north, the head-to-head battle between Wolves teammates LaVine and Wiggins will not take place under the spotlight. Wiggins shot down any hopes of the battle between the two due to being shunned during his high school years. Fans would demand that judges give the Canadian kid a 50 if he were to showcase something similar to his McDonald’s Dunk Contest showing:

There’s been only a trio of players to hold the honor of back-to-back Slam Dunk Contest titles, including Nate Robinson, Jason Richardson and Michael Jordan. If LaVine’s bag of tricks contains anything like the ones that he displayed this summer in Seattle, the Slam Dunk Contest will once again be must-see TV on Saturday night:

With their three key players all just 20 years old, it’s only a matter of time before the league and fans see one or all three of Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach LaVine play on the main stage during the NBA All-Star Weekend.

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