James Harden and the Houston Rockets travel to Minnesota to take on Andrew Wiggins and the Timberwolves at the Target Center. The game gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Monday, Apr. 11 and will air on RSW and FNo.
The Timberwolves edged the Trail Blazers 106-105 on Saturday. Karl-Anthony Towns was the team’s high scorer with 27 points on 13-for-20 shooting. The Rockets, meanwhile, are coming off a 130-110 win over the Lakers on Sunday. Harden had a good game and claimed his 23rd double-double of the season, posting 40 points and 13 assists.
Over the last five games, Wiggins has really been playing well for the Timberwolves. During that stretch, he has averaged 24.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.2 three-pointers.
The Rockets have won both contests against the Timberwolves this season, including a 116-111 victory in their last matchup. In the loss, Towns had a double-double with 32 points and 11 rebounds.
The Timberwolves look to improve upon their records of 28-52 Straight Up (SU) and 38-41-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have been able to pull off wins at home against the Western Conference, going, but have struggled ATS with a record of 13-25-1. The Timberwolves are an exceptional shooting team from the line with an NBA-best 1,710 free throws made (21.0 per game). Expect Minnesota to have lots of opportunities at the line against the Rockets, who are one of the most foul-prone teams in the league with an average of 22.4 fouls per game.
On the other side, Houston has a SU record of 39-41 and an ATS record of 34-45-1. In Western Conference games, Houston has gone 39-41 SU and 34-45-1 ATS. The Rockets rank fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 106.2 points per game. Houston is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the league, converting 10.0 shots from three-point range per game. When it comes to stealing the ball, the Rockets are the best in the league with an average of 10.0 steals per game. A large part of Houston’s game is creating turnovers and turning them into points. They are scoring 18.8 points per game off turnovers, which ranks third in the league.
The Rockets’ win over Minnesota in their last clash moved their SU record in the last 10 against Minnesota to 9-1. The teams have an even record ATS, 5-5.
Predictions: SU Winner – Hou
Notes
“The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Minnesota’s last 6 games “.
“Minnesota is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home”.
“Minnesota is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games at home”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Minnesota’s last 6 games at home”.
“Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Houston”.
“Minnesota is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Houston”.
“The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota’s last 5 games when playing Houston”.
“Minnesota is 4-10-1 ATS in its last 15 games when playing at home against Houston”.
“Minnesota is 3-12 SU in its last 15 games when playing at home against Houston”.
Houston ranks fourth in points per game with 106.2, while Minnesota ranks 23rd in points allowed with an average of 105.6 given up.
Houston puts up an average of 106.3 points per away game (ranked third). Minnesota ranks 24th in points allowed per home game with 104.6.
When giving up fewer than 100 points, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a 12-11 record. When they don’t reach the century mark, the Houston Rockets have an underachieving record of 2-17.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Timberwolves are just 16-41 this season. Houston is a solid 37-24 when it hits the century mark.
The Rockets have a defensive rating of 106.9 (ranked 23rd). The Timberwolves rank 12th for their offensive rating of 104.6.
Houston beats Minnesota in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Rockets average 100.2 possessions and 1.060 points per possession, while the Timberwolves average 97.4 possessions with 1.046 points per possession.
The Houston Rockets have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking seventh in the league with an EFF% of 51.4%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a subpar 11-35 record.
On average, the Minnesota Timberwolves attempt 16.0 three point field goals per game and the Houston Rockets attempt 30.0 per game. In games where they attempt at least 25 threes, Minnesota has a winning 3-1 record, while Houston is 33-34.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.61, rank 15th in the NBA. The Houston Rockets have a lower A/TO (1.44), ranking 26th.
Minnesota ranks 29th in rebounds per game with 41.6, while Houston ranks 20th with 42.9 per game.
Minnesota is ranked 28th in defensive rebounds, while Houston ranks sixth in offensive rebounds.
Houston is one of the top teams in forced turnovers, with opponents averaging a TOV% of 15.8% (ranked second). Minnesota has a poor record of 11-22 SU this season when its TOV% reaches 15.8% or greater.
