The Philadelphia 76ers escaped a Sunday trap game against the New York Knicks with a 108-105 win, but they will see familiar faces in Robert Covington, Dario Saric, and Jerryd Bayless upon hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Wells Fargo Center.
Head coach Brett Brown, for one, has been anticipating this date after the franchise traded the three for Jimmy Butler and an injury-marred Justin Patton.
“I’m just excited to see them,” Brown said, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I follow them all. I played text tag with Robert the past 24, 48 hours.”
“You saw Robert when nobody even knew about him,” Brown added, noting Covington's signing on Nov. 15, 2014. “Then we gave him [62] million dollars. You visited Dario Saric over in Europe even before he came to [our] shores. So I’ve been around those guys a long time. I’ve seen them grow. They are fantastic people. They helped us start a culture, and I truly look forward to seeing them.”
Covington has thrived in his role of primary perimeter stopper since coming to The Twin Cities, but he's missed the last six games with a right ankle injury.
Saric has had an intermittent role since arriving in Minnesota, playing the least amount of minutes per game (23) of his career, but has managed to average a respectable 10.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game through 29 games with the Wolves.
Minnesota, winners of four out of the last five games, poses a real threat for Philly, who is rebounding from losses to the Washington Wizards and the Atlanta Hawks, while barely escaping with a win over the Knicks — all non-playoff teams.