The Northwest Division is host to many great teams, but the Portland Trail Blazers might have their best contest against an underrated rival.
In the NBA Today, everyone loves to watch games that come down to the wire, go into overtime, or see a match up of two rivals on different teams square off. Some of these games are known as Game of the Year candidates. In the Northwest Division, many match ups make the cut every year, but the one game that we should be looking as a Game of the Year candidate is between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
These two teams play each other twice in the upcoming NBA 2019-2020 season, the first matchup being on December 21, 2019 in Portland at the Moda Center. The second matchup taking place on January 9, 2020 in Minnesota at the Target Center.
Some key players on both teams could impact the game in more ways then one, with stars like Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Hassan Whiteside on the Portland Trail Blazers, and Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and Jeff Teague on the Timberwolves, makes this game already one of the most anticipated divisional rivalry games of the year. With the offseason moves made by both teams this year, the Trail Blazers have stocked up on many players in the front court, like Mario Hezonja coming over from the Knicks, and Pau Gasol from the Bucks, they have some key players that could stop Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.
The one problem that the Minnesota Timberwolves have, is the match up problem with Lillard and McCollum. With players like Shabazz Napier, Teague and Jerryd Bayless on the Timberwolves defending the pair of Trail Blazers, these players will have a true test taking on these two that are considered to be one of the best backcourt duos in the NBA. When it comes down to it we will be watching one team that will fight against a strong front court and another taking on a strong back court.
With players like Jake Layman, Noah Vonleh and Napier now playing for Minnesota, they are beginning to look a little like the TimberBlazers. This coincidence is a bit more exaggerated when you consider the fact Minnesota recently hired Portland’s player development coach David Vanterpool over the summer. This should help spark something more of a familar rivalry between the two teams.
When it comes to these two teams, we will either get a one-sided game, or possibly we may get a Game of the Year candidate. This year, with all the hype the NBA is bringing into the 2019-2020 season, believe that when these two team meet, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves, we will be looking at the Game of the Year in the Northwest Division.