The Minnesota Timberwolves (16-56) will have their hands full against the top shooting defense in the league when they take on the Utah Jazz (32-41) at the Target Center. The game gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Monday, Mar. 30 and will air on ROOT-NW and FSN-N.
The Timberwolves lost to the Rockets 120-110 on Friday. Andrew Wiggins finished with 31 points to lead the team. The Jazz, meanwhile, are coming off a 94-89 win over the Thunder on Saturday. Rudy Gobert had a good game and claimed his 20th double-double of the season, accumulating 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Wiggins has been playing at a high level as of late for the Timberwolves, averaging 22.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.8 blocks over the last five games. On the other side, the Jazz have been led by Gobert. He has been on a tear, averaging 12.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steal, and 2.2 blocks in the same time frame.
Utah could own the offensive glass in this matchup, as it ranks first in the NBA in offensive rebound percentage at 29.0%. Conversely, Minnesota places 30th in the league on the defensive backboards with a defensive rebound percentage of 72.1%.
The Jazz have won two out of three against the Timberwolves this season, but dropped their most recent game, a close 106-104 loss. In the loss, Gobert had a double-double with 18 points and 17 rebounds.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is presently unavailable. The Timberwolves are looking to improve on their records of 16-56 Straight Up (SU) and 31-39-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 4-9 SU and 7-5-1 ATS against teams from their own division.
Across the court, the Jazz head into the game with records of 39-33-1 ATS and 32-41 SU. When traveling to face teams in its division, Utah has a record of 4-2 ATS. However, the Jazz only managed a SU record of 2-4 in those games. Utah is one of the better offensive rebounding teams in the NBA. The Jazz average 11.9 offensive rebounds per game, making them the fourth-best team in the league for that category. The Jazz are the top defensive team in the league, essentially shutting down opponents to the tune of 95.0 points allowed per game. They average 6.0 blocks per game, good for fourth in the league.
Minnesota beat Utah in their most recent meeting this season, but the Jazz still lead the head-to-head record over the last 10, 6-4 SU. The Timberwolves hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Utah held the edge in all three of these categories twice in the last 10 meetings. Minnesota did so once.
Predictions: SU Winner – UTA, ATS Winner – UTA
Notes
On average, Utah puts up 94.7 points per game (ranked 27th). Minnesota ranks 30th in points allowed per game with 105.9.
Utah scores an average of 93.4 points per away game (ranked 27th). Minnesota ranks 30th in points allowed per home game with 103.3.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Jazz are 29-15 on the season. When the Timberwolves score fewer than 100, they are a subpar 6-35.
Both Utah and Minnesota have losing records when they allow and score at least 100 points, respectively. The Jazz are 3-26 in the former situation, and the Timberwolves are 10-21 in the latter.
The Timberwolves have a defensive rating of 108.1 (ranked 30th), while the Jazz rank 15th for their offensive rating of 102.3.
Minnesota has an average field goal percentage of 43.8%. Utah is an underachieving 8-34 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
On average, the Minnesota Timberwolves make 21.8 assists per game and the Utah Jazz make 19.8. Minnesota is ranked 14th, while Utah is ranked 30th.
The Utah Jazz average 6.0 blocks per game, the fourth-ranked team in the league. The Minnesota Timberwolves rank a lowly 27th in blocking with just 3.9 per game.
The Minnesota Timberwolves rank fifth in offensive rebounding, while the Utah Jazz rank 22nd in defensive rebounding.
The Timberwolves record 8.3 steals per game on average (ranked ninth). The Jazz are 18-26 when allowing at least 8 steals.
