Minnesota Timberwolves vs LA Clippers Prediction: The Timberwolves can take this one

NBA is on and the midseason window is going to bring us a bunch of trades, while also bringing us a pile of injuries. Well, the thing about this period is that we will enter a phase where the trade deadline gets closer, so let us see what player movement we will witness. Anyway, in this game two teams that do need to make some trades, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the LA Clippers are going to meet.

The Timberwolves come into the game after their second straight win, beating the Portland Trail Blazers. Minnesota won 113:106 as Anthony Edwards had a spectacular 32 points night. Despite the win, the Timberwolves have just 18 wins and have already hit 21 losses. They have been playing without Karl Anthony-Towns for multiple weeks now and that has further dented their progress. To be honest, the Wolves were struggling even with Karl and had almost a similar win percentage as of now. Anthony Edwards has been giving great production, scoring 25+ points whereas D’Angelo Russell’s play has improved. Can the Wolves recover their last season's form?

The Clippers come into this game after an embarrassing 91:122 loss against the Denver Nuggets in a game where no player for them even reached the 15 points mark. This was the fourth loss in a row for LA and they have now hit a wall this season, a mirror image of the last season. This has happened despite Kawhi Leonard’s return whose play has taken the next step lately. Paul George continues to be the main offensive enforcer but mostly, the team hasn’t found winning performances from Reggie Jackson, Norman Powell, and John Wall on the offensive end. Even their earlier elite defense has taken a hit lately while the offensive end has been abysmal for most parts.

• Timberwolves: OUT: Karl Anthony-Towns, Jordan McLaughlin. QUESTIONABLE: Naz Reid, Bryn Forbes;
• Clippers: OUT: John Wall, Nicolas Batum.

• Expected Leading Scorers: Anthony Edwards(27-32 Points), Paul George(20-26 Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Rudy Gobert(11-13 Rebounds), Ivica Zubac(8-11 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakers: D’Angelo Russell(6-9 Assists), Paul George(5-7 Assists).

The Timberwolves have played much better in the last two games but they lack the unit to force such results consistently. They have three major advantages over the Clippers in this game; a day’s rest, home-court advantage, and better form. The Clippers’ offense needs change and they may need to explore the market for a Point Guard who can shoot from outside at a high clip because they have been missing that punch. I believe their shooting woes will extend but with George returning, they can force a close game. I still back Timberwolves to win with a scoreline of 112:107.