Houston Rockets vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, 3/27/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Rockets vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Date: Saturday, March 27, 2021

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: Fox Sports North

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (+3.5)

Target Center is the venue where and the Minnesota Timberwolves (10-34) will play the Houston Rockets (12-31) on Saturday. Houston opens this contest as 3.5-point dogs. The over/under opens at 223.5.

The Houston Rockets took the court against the Charlotte Hornets and ended up losing by a score of 122-97 in their last contest. Houston finished the contest having earned a 38.4% FG percentage (33 of 86) and buried 16 of their 49 3-pointers. From the free throw line, the Rockets converted 15 of their 22 tries for a rate of 68.2%. In regard to grabbing boards, they earned 39 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 24 assists in this matchup as well as forcing 13 turnovers and earning 6 steals. When it comes to defending, Houston let their opponent shoot 51.3% from the floor on 41 of 80 shooting. Charlotte recorded 27 assists and had 4 steals in this matchup. Furthermore, Charlotte snagged 50 rebounds (10 offensive, 40 defensive) and got 2 blocks. Charlotte ended up shooting 75.9% at the charity stripe by knocking down 22 of 29 attempts. They also converted 18 of 38 attempts from 3-point land.

John Wall is one player who was a factor in this matchup. He totaled 20 points on 6 of 15 shooting. He played 29:03 minutes and totaled 2 rebounds. Wall ended up shooting 40.0% from the field and also recorded 7 assists. An additional guy that was a contributor in this matchup for the Rockets was Christian Wood. He pulled down 10 rebounds in 29:16 minutes played. He ended up shooting 28.6% from the field for this game by shooting 4-of-14 (11 points). When all was said and done, Wood finished the game without an assist.

Houston comes into this one with a record of 12-31 on the season. They have an average of 106.9 points per contest (25th in the league) while hitting 43.4% from the field. The Rockets are hitting 32.8% from downtown (568 of 1,734) and 74.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, Houston is grabbing 42.3 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 957 assists on the season, which has them ranked 28th in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. They are losing possession via turnover 14.3 times per contest and as a unit are committing 20.0 personal fouls per contest. Defensively, the Rockets are able to force 15.5 turnovers every game and they draw 19.9 personal fouls. They are surrendering 37.5% on 3-point attempts while they are 23rd in the league in points per game from their opponents (113.6). The Rockets are allowing a shooting percentage of 46.9% (667 of 856) and they surrender 48.5 boards per game as a group. They currently rank 7th in the NBA in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,035 surrendered this season.

In their last game, the Minnesota Timberwolves walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 128-108 when they faced the Dallas Mavericks. The Timberwolves were able to snag 31 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 37 for the matchup. They turned the ball over 12 times, while earning 6 steals for the matchup. The Mavericks committed 22 fouls for this contest which got the Timberwolves to the charity stripe for 26 shots. They were able to knock down 20 of the free throws for a rate of 76.9%. In relation to shots from distance, Minnesota made 12 out of their 38 tries (31.6%). When this game wrapped up, the Timberwolves shot 38 out of 86 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 44.2%. The Timberwolves permitted the Mavericks to make 48 of 99 tries from the field which had them shooting 48.5% in the matchup. They finished the game shooting 36.4% from beyond the perimeter by going 16 out of 44 and finished the game at 16 out of 22 from the charity stripe (72.7%). Regarding cleaning up the glass, Minnesota permitted Dallas to pull down 53 in total (14 offensive).

Anthony Edwards was important for the Timberwolves in the game. He knocked down 9 out of 23 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 39.1%, and had 5 rebounds. Edwards racked up 29 points in his 37:15 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 3 dimes for the contest. One more player that ended being a contributor for Minnesota was Karl-Anthony Towns. He ended up with 6 assists in his 33:36 minutes played, and he converted 8 of 20 from the floor. Towns wrapped this one up going 40.0% from the field in addition to earning 22 points and 5 rebounds.

Minnesota has a record of 10-34 on the season. When it comes to offense, the Timberwolves are connecting on 44.3% from the field, which has them ranked 28th in the league. Minnesota has scored 4,811 pts on the campaign (109.3 per game) and they average 42.9 rebounds per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 25.0 times per game (14th in the NBA) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 14.5 times per contest. The Timberwolves are committing 21.6 personal fouls every game and they hit 76.0% from the charity stripe. The Timberwolves on the defensive end are ranked 28th in basketball in points allowed per game with 117.3. They give up 26.2 dimes and 47.0 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 26th and 25th in basketball. The Minnesota defense concedes 38.3% on shots from distance (534 of 1,393) and opponents are making 79.1% of their free throw attempts. They have forced 15.2 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 48.0% from the floor (28th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Houston (+3.5)

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