Houston Rockets At Minnesota Timberwolves: Game 28: Sneak Peek Analysis

Mar 18, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) shoots the ball during the second quarter as Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) defends at Toyota Center. The Rockets won 116-111. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) shoots the ball during the second quarter as Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) defends at Toyota Center. The Rockets won 116-111. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Let the good times continue to roll for the Houston Rockets.

Let the good times continue to roll for the Houston Rockets.

Your Houston Rockets are now winners of nine games in row, shattering franchise and league records one-by-one!

Is it surprising that this team has been offensively potent?

Absolutely not — but the way they’ve been winning games is, as I thought they’d struggle against some of the stronger competition in the Association.

But not so.

They can hang just as well with any of the big dogs in the league and that’s what makes this team special.

Last night, James Harden became the franchise-leader in career triple-doubles with 15 to his credit surpassing Hakeem Olajuwon‘s long-standing record of 14.

That just attests what type of special player we have in the Beard so let’s all sit back and enjoy this amazing renaissance of spectacular play.

More from House of Houston

In addition to that feat, your Rockets made 24 three-pointers out of 61 attempts against the which is definitely grounds for breaking the NBA record in that category.

As good as this team is with the three-ball, it’s not surprising if they break their record once again against the 7-18 Minnesota Timberwolves, who are ranked 27th in defensive efficiency, allowing 108.9 points per 100 possessions. 

 

It’s tough to fathom that a Tom Thibodeau-coached team would have numbers that low but it’s understandable that he’s getting his feet wet with this bunch and he’ll have it turned around in no time.

He coaches extremely hard — like a drill sergeant — so I’m not sure if it’s backlash from that or it has been quite a jolt for these young bunch of players adjusting to their new coach.

We’ll have to see if additional records are broken tonight.

So who’s leading the charge for the Timberwolves?

Andrew Wiggins leads the team in scoring (22.4 PPG) while Karl Anthony-Towns is the top board-getter (10.8 RPG) and shot-blocker (1.4 BPG).  Ricky Rubio is in charge of the dimes (6.6 APG) and steals (1.4 SPG).

Let’s talk about what the Timberwolves do well.

They’re quite good with their offense.  The T-Wolves are ranked 10th in the NBA as far as offensive efficiency, averaging 106.0 points per 100 possessions.

They’re a solid rebounding team.  The T-Wolves are tied for 8th — along with the Los Angeles Clippers and the Memphis Grizzlies — in rebound rate, taking down a whopping 50.9 percent of missed shots.

They’re decent shooters as a team.  The T-Wolves are 12th in NBA in regard to true shooting percentage (54.4).

Next: Eric Gordon's Campaign For 6th Man

Injuries:

There are no injuries to report for either the Houston Rockets or Minnesota Timberwolves.

Matchups to Watch:

  1. Clint Capela vs. Karl-Anthony Towns
  2. Trevor Ariza vs. Andrew Wiggins
  3. James Harden vs. Zach LaVine
  4. Patrick Beverley vs. Ricky Rubio
  5. Ryan Anderson vs. Gorgui Dieng

Prediction:

120-104 in a Houston Rockets’ win!

The Rockets are back on the road to take on the Timberwolves at Target 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), Sirius/XM/SiriusXM Internet 890 and La Ranchera 101.7 FM (KNTE) & 850 AM (KEYH) in Spanish.

Go Rockets!