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Game 69: Houston Rockets Vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Preview

By Brian K. Patterson

Jan 13, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins (22) dribbles the ball as Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) defends during the fourth quarter at Toyota Center. The Rockets won 107-104. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 13, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins (22) dribbles the ball as Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) defends during the fourth quarter at Toyota Center. The Rockets won 107-104. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Houston Rockets were riding high off a historical win over the Memphis Grizzlies Monday but it was back to the same old stuff against the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night.

The game got out of hand for the Rockets quickly and there was no turning back after the Clippers kept pouring it on.

The Clippers had some massive defeats as of late and they could not lose any more games to prove that they’re a team that’s going to make some noise this year.

And they certainly did…

The Rockets looked helpless out there and were just waiting for what seemed like a bad dream to end.

It finally did…

But the Rockets are back in the fold tonight against the 22-46 Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that is up-and-coming and on the move.

They’re no longer the pushover that they used to be as the team’s management has drafted and made moves wisely to put a young core consisting of Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Ricky Rubio together that could make some beautiful music together eventually.

This actually will be a good match up to watch and it shouldn’t be a blowout by any means but the Rockets should be able to win this game with considerable effort.

We’ll have to see if the millionth “players-only” meeting yesterday helped…

So who’s leading the charge for the Timberwolves?

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Andrew Wiggins is the leading scorer (20.6 PPG).  Ricky Rubio is the assist man (8.8 APG) and steals king (2.00 SPG).  Karl-Anthony Towns is the team’s top board-getter (10.3 RPG) and the premier shot-blocker (1.70 BPG).

Let’s talk about what the Timberwolves do well.

They keep the basketball moving around.  The Timberwolves are tied for 9th in assist ratio — with the Orlando Magic — where 17.4 percent of their possessions ending with an assist.

They’re quite a decent offensive team.  The Timberwolves are ranked 12th in the league in offensive efficiency, averaging 103.8 points per 100 possessions.

They’re great shooters.  The Timberwolves are ranked 9th in true shooting percentage (54.7).

Injuries:

Terrence Jones did not make the five-game road trip with the Rockets as he was still recovering from an upper respiratory infection.  He has recovered and was activated Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Sam Dekker‘s back is acting up on him again as he has had some tightness occur.  He was held out of practice Tuesday and was de-activated Wednesday against the Clippers.

Gorgui Dieng had been dealing with a hip injury but has been ruled as PROBABLE for tonight.

Sources:  Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle and Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.

Three Things to Watch:

  1. Patrick Beverley vs. Ricky Rubio
  2. Dwight Howard vs. Karl-Anthony Towns
  3. James Harden vs. Zach LaVine
  4. (Bonus)  Trevor Ariza vs. Andrew Wiggins

Prediction:

109-102 in a Rockets’ win!

The Rockets are back at home to take on the Timberwolves at Toyota Center.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST.

The game will be televised on ROOT Sports Southwest and broadcast on SportsTalk 790 AM (KBME) and La Ranchera 850 AM (KEYH) in Spanish.

Go Rockets!

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