Minnesota Timberwolves vs Houston Rockets Prediction, 1/8/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Houston Rockets

Date: Sunday, January 8, 2023

Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX

TV: AT&T Sportsnet Southwest

Odds/Point Spread: Minnesota (-4)

The Houston Rockets will go up against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Toyota Center on Sunday. Minnesota opens this contest as 4-point favorites. The betting total comes in at 230.

The Timberwolves stepped onto the hardwood against the Clippers and walked away with a win by a score of 128-115 in their last game. When discussing personal fouls, the Timberwolves finished with 22 and the Clippers racked up 19 personal fouls. They made 9 of 25 tries from beyond the arc. Los Angeles finished shooting 66.7% at the charity stripe by converting 18 of their 27 tries. On top of that, Los Angeles collected 40 rebounds (18 offensive, 22 defensive) and added 7 blocked shots. Los Angeles dished out 22 dimes and had 13 steals in the game. When it comes to defense, Minnesota let their opponent shoot 44.0% from the field on 44 out of 100 shooting. They also recorded 28 dimes for the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and getting 4 steals. Pertaining to hauling in boards, they compiled a total of 45 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Timberwolves made 23 of their 29 tries for a percentage of 79.3%. Minnesota finished the game with a 56.8% FG percentage (46 of 81) and knocked down 13 of their 35 3-pointers.

Rudy Gobert is one player who was a contributor for the matchup. He ended up finishing with 25 points on 11 of 15 shooting. He played 36 mins played and also totaled 21 rebounds. Gobert finished shooting 73.3% from the floor but finished the game without an assist.

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Minnesota will take the court with a win-loss mark of 19-21 so far this season. They are averaging 115.0 points per outing (12th in the league) while connecting on 49.2% from the field. The Timberwolves are connecting on 34.3% on shots from 3-point land (444 of 1,295) and 77.5% from the charity stripe. As a team, Minnesota is collecting 42.0 boards per game and has accumulated 1,020 assists on the season, which ranks 9th in the league in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 15.9 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 22.1 fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Timberwolves are forcing 15.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.8 fouls. They give up 36.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 19th in the league in PPG from their opponents (115.5). The Timberwolves defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.0% (1,649 of 3,587) and they concede 44.8 boards per game as a group. They are 27th in the league in giving up assists with 1,028 conceded for the campaign.

For their last game, the Rockets went home defeated by a final of 131-114 against the Jazz. In reference to how they rebounded, Houston permitted Utah to snag 42 in total (9 on the offensive glass). They shot 39.6% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 19 of 48 and finished the contest at 20 of 21 from the free throw line (95.2%). The Rockets permitted the Jazz to convert 46 of 93 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 49.5% for this game. In all, the Rockets shot 38 for 92 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.3%. When discussing shooting from 3-point land, Houston converted 15 of their 42 attempts (35.7%). They were able to bury 23 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 88.5%. The Jazz had 20 fouls for the game which took the Rockets to the charity stripe for a total of 26 attempts. They also turned it over 14 times, while getting 4 steals in this game. The Rockets snagged 35 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive boards for a total of 49 in this contest.

Jalen Green ended up being a factor for the Rockets in the matchup. Green racked up 30 points in his 38 mins of playing time and totaled 4 dimes in this matchup. He converted 8 of 24 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 33.3%, and added 4 rebounds.

Houston has a mark of 10-29 this season. The Rockets commit 20.7 fouls per contest and they go 77.0% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 21.7 times per game (30th in basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 16.9 times per contest. Houston has earned 4,267 points so far this year (109.4 per game) and they grab 46.9 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Rockets are shooting 44.3% from the floor, which is 30th in basketball.

The Houston defense allows 36.2% on three-point shots (560 of 1,545) and their opponents are connecting on 78.3% of their foul shots. They have given up 25.7 assists and 42.1 rebounds on a nightly basis, ranking them 21st and 6th in the league. The Rockets on the defensive end are ranked 21st in the NBA in points per game surrendered with 116.2. They have forced 14.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 47.3% from the floor (19th in basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Houston (+4)

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