PORTLAND, ORE. – Back in the starting lineup at small forward, Timberwolves former backup power forward Nemanja Bjelica provides size, shooting and something else.
Someone who has done this before.
When teammate Jimmy Butler missed four January games because of a sore knee, Bjelica started all four and delivered an 18-point, nine-rebound game that helped beat the Clippers in Los Angeles.
“I forgot when Jimmy went down, Belly did great for us,” Wolves veteran forward Taj Gibson said. “Especially that L.A. Clipper game. He won that game for us.”
Five weeks later, Butler is out again, sidelined now by a partly torn meniscus that will keep him out the next month at the very least.