Houston Rockets vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, 1/21/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Houston Rockets vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Date: Saturday, January 21, 2023

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: Bally Sports North

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (+8)

The Houston Rockets are traveling to Target Center on Saturday where they will attempt to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota opens this contest as 8-point favorites. The betting total is set at 228.

The Rockets faced off with the Hornets and took a loss by a final of 122-117 in their last contest. In relation to fouls, the Rockets ended up with 22 and the Hornets totaled 20 fouls. They also made 9 out of their 36 shots from three-point range. Charlotte finished shooting 68.0% from the charity stripe by converting 17 of their 25 attempts. Moreover, Charlotte snagged 37 rebounds (11 offensive, 26 defensive) and earned 5 rejections. Charlotte totaled 27 dimes and had 14 steals for this contest. When it comes to defending, Houston allowed their opponent to shoot 50.0% from the field on 48 of 96 shooting. They also doled out 21 assists in the matchup while forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and having 4 steals. In reference to hauling in rebounds, they compiled 47 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Rockets buried 15 of their 20 attempts for a rate of 75.0%. Houston walked away from the game having earned a 50.5% FG percentage (46 of 91) and converted 10 of their 32 shots from beyond the arc.

Jalen Green is one player who was a major factor for the game. He ended up finishing with 41 points on 16 of 24 shooting. He played for 40 minutes and grabbed 5 rebounds. Green finished the game at 66.7% from the field and dished out 7 assists.

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Houston comes into this matchup with a mark of 10-35 so far this year. They are turning it over 16.8 times per contest and as a group they are committing 20.8 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Houston is pulling down 46.4 boards per game and is sitting with 995 dimes for the year, which is 29th in the league in terms of passing the ball. The Rockets are hitting 33.0% on shots from beyond the arc (521 of 1,580) and 76.1% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 109.8 pts per contest (28th in the NBA) while going 44.7% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Rockets are forcing 13.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 21.3 personal fouls. They currently rank 19th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,157 relinquished this season. The Rockets defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 47.8% (1,898 of 3,974) and they surrender 42.1 rebounds per contest as a group. They give up 36.5% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 25th in the NBA in PPG allowed (117.6).

The last time they took the court, the Timberwolves went home victorious with a score of 128-126 against the Raptors. In the matter of rebounding, Minnesota permitted Toronto to snag 38 in total (8 offensive). They finished 50.0% from three-point range by connecting on 14 of 28 and finished the game at 20 out of 27 at the charity stripe (74.1%). The Timberwolves permitted the Raptors to convert 46 of their 87 tries from the floor which had them at 52.9% in this contest. At the conclusion of this game, the Timberwolves finished shooting 45 for 89 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 50.6%. When discussing shooting from downtown, Minnesota made 17 out of their 40 tries (42.5%). They were able to make 21 of those for a rate of 91.3%. The Raptors earned 19 fouls for this contest which got the Timberwolves to the charity stripe for a total of 23 attempts. They also turned it over 15 times, while earning 12 steals for the contest. The Timberwolves snagged 29 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 37 in the matchup.

D'Angelo Russell was important for the Timberwolves in this game. Russell scored 25 points in his 34 mins on the court and earned 6 dimes in the game. He buried 8 of 15 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 53.3%, and earned 1 rebound.

Minnesota has a record of 23-24 on the season. The Timberwolves are responsible for committing 22.0 fouls per game and they go 78.0% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 25.4 times per game (11th in the league) and they lose possession via turnover 15.8 times per contest. Minnesota has totaled 5,422 pts this season (115.4 per game) and they collect 41.3 boards per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Timberwolves are connecting on 49.3% from the floor, which is ranked 3rd in the NBA.

The Minnesota defense concedes 37.4% on 3-point shots (632 of 1,691) and their opponents are connecting on 75.6% of their free throw attempts. They have conceded 25.8 dimes and 44.1 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 24th and 22nd in the NBA. The Timberwolves are ranked 19th in the league in points given up per game with 115.8. They are able to force 15.9 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 46.7% from the field (10th in the league).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Minnesota (-8)

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