The Minnesota Timberwolves (38-27) caught a late flight out of Portland following a road loss to the Trail Blazers on Thursday. They lost an hour on the journey. They’re without All-Star Jimmy Butler (sidelined by injury for the next month), they’re playing the second game of a back-to-back and their best three remaining players are all top 10 in minutes played this season — including Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony-Towns as the two leaders in the NBA.
Jazz coach Quin Snyder has a thought for the “fatigue” storyline: It’s cliche. And frankly, he doesn’t think it has a real effect on games.