Houston Rockets: Power Ranking Potential Playoff Opponents
By Jake Lapin
Minnesota Timberwolves
Season series: 3-0 Houston Rockets
The Timberwolves are good. If Jimmy Butler comes back healthy, which he says he will, then there will be far less talented teams to make the playoffs this season. However, Minnesota’s style of play sets up perfectly against the Houston Rockets.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, three is greater than two.
To the surprise of no one, the Rockets lead the NBA in threes attempted at about 43 per game. The Wolves rank dead last in that category at nearly 20 deep balls less per night. It’s simple math.
Even if Minnesota shoots twice as well as the Houston from beyond the arc, the Rockets will still be getting the same amount of points on three-pointers.
It’s not really a question of talent. Butler is a top-12 NBA player and Karl Anthony-Towns is on his way to being one. However, KAT could give Clint Capela some issues over the course of a series.
But, the Timberwolves simply cannot defend the Rockets well enough to make up the difference in points per shot attempt. Simply just looking at their offensive stylistic differences. It would take four atrociously bad shooting nights from the Rockets to make it a series. Even then, Houston has the defense and the MVP and isolation master to make up for it.