Minnesota Timberwolves vs Houston Rockets Prediction: The Timberwolves are out of rhythm

The NBA Regular Season has presented us with a bunch of aspiring battles already and some teams have done a lot with even their limited talent. As we move forward, things are only looking trickier as the results have been all over the place. There are some teams that are still figuring out how to go about it and one of which is the Minnesota Timberwolves which will take on the Houston Rockets.

The Timberwolves come into this game after a humbling 102:115 loss against the Milwaukee Bucks. In that game, the Wolves looked clueless on both ends, constantly getting out-hustled and also struggling to take care of the defensive end, looking completely clueless. The weird part is that their last season’s high-octane offense is missing from action and they have not been producing high-quality basketball, relying on hot hands of Anthony-Towns and Edwards than playing team basketball.

D’Angelo Russell has disappeared as a shooter and his impact has been next to nothing. Rudy Gobert’s fit has been questionable and the lineup with him doesn’t seem him to work as much as expected. The biggest concern has been lack of hustle and defense though but the offense isn’t even close to what it was last season. There is a LOT of time left in the season and it will be interesting to see how things work out for them in the long run.

The Rockets suffered another defeat as they lost 101:109 to the Clippers despite a 26 points outing by Alperen Sengun. The Rockets have won just once in nine games and they have been struggling on the offensive end. Jalen Green had a decent outing in the last game but he has been shooting below 30% during most games lately which has hurt the offense. Rookie Jabari Smith Jr has had no impact on the offensive end and frankly needs big adjustments to sustain something substantial.

Kevin Porter Jr has been efficient both as a shooter and playmaker whereas Alperen Sengun has been a standout big both as a scorer and rebounder in the middle, becoming a double-double threat. The bench is erratic and the defense hasn’t been good enough to support the offense. It is to be expected from a team that is full of rookies and youngsters mostly. The Rockets are a work in progress but their young players need to showcase more resilience.

The Timberwolves have been distraught lately, they have lost three in a row and they need a break. Although they will come into this game as the firm favorites, their chances can take a hit since they will play the second game on second night. They couldn’t have found a more loose opponent than the Rockets but you can’t underestimate any NBA squad. I believe the Timberwolves will eke out a win here and the points range will be 230-240