Keys to the series, matchups to watch and a prediction for the NBA’s first-round playoff matchup between the Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves postseason fate came down to a dramatic 112-106 OT win over the Denver Nuggets on the final night of the regular season, sealing the eighth seed and a matchup with James Harden and the Houston Rockets.
Here’s the full schedule for the first round matchup:
Houston Rockets (1) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (8)
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- Game 1 Timberwolves at Rockets, Sunday, April 15 at 9 p.m. (TNT)
- Game 2 Timberwolves at Rockets, Wednesday, April 18 at 9:30 p.m. (TNT)
- Game 3 Rockets at Timberwolves, Saturday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
- Game 4 Rockets at Timberwolves, Monday, April 23 at 8 p.m. (TNT)
- Game 5 (if necessary) Timberwolves at Rockets, Wednesday, April 25 (TBD)
- Game 6 (if necessary) Rockets at Timberwolves, Friday, April 27 (TBD)
- Game 7 (if necessary) Timberwolves at Rockets, Sunday, April 29 (TBD)
Let’s take a look at how the two teams will match up.
Houston
Houston dominated Minnesota this season, winning all four contests against the T-Wolves. Minnesota’s defense has struggled this year, and unless they pick it up, they could be swept by the NBA’s most electric offensive team.
James Harden led the NBA this year in scoring with an impressive 30.8 points per game, while Center Clint Capela led the league with a 65.2 field goal percentage. Capela is big enough that he should be able to contain Karl-Anthony Towns in the paint, while P.J. Tucker is a good enough defender to stop Jimmy Butler from going on a tear offensively.
If Houston gets hot from downtown, it’s game over for the T-Wolves. Veteran Chris Paul is still an offensive factor even at the age of 32. Paul is averaging just under 20 points this season, while also collecting an impressive 7.9 assists per game. He’s a great playmaker and makes everyone around him better.
Houston will be without Luc Mbah a Moute, who dislocated his shoulder and is set to miss the entire first round. He’s been a great defensive player for the Rockets this year who brings versatility. Trevor Ariza and P.J. Tucker are two others who should be able to fill the void in place of Mbah a Moute.
Minnesota
Minnesota will have to try to slow down an extremely fast Rockets team, who averaged 112.4 points per game this season, just second in the NBA to Golden State. It will be up to Jimmy Butler to stop James Harden, arguably the most exciting scorer in the league. The Wolves will have to prevent the Rockets from getting in a groove from downtown.
Houston hit over 1200 3-pointers this year, ranking them number one in the Association. Minnesota must play tight defense and hope that the Rockets go cold from the three-point line, while they need to shoot well from 3-point range themselves.
Karl-Anthony Towns averaged 21.3 points per contest this season while collecting an average of 12.3 boards per game. He’ll have to be an absolute monster inside if the T-Wolves want any chance of winning some games in this series. Despite losing to the Rockets in all four games this season, Jimmy Butler only played in one of the games from start to finish.
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He went down with a knee injury in their second match-up on February 23rd, then missed the last two games between the two teams. The four-time All-Star is healthy and ready to go and will be an offensive factor for Minnesota after averaging 22.2 points per game this season.
The winner of this series will play either OKC or Utah in the Western Conference Semifinals.