The Minnesota Timberwolves take the trip to the Valley of the Sun to take on the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night at the Talking Stick Resort Arena.
The Minnesota Timberwolves will be looking to win two straight against the Phoenix Suns whom they defeated 116-114 on Sunday behind Derrick Rose’s game winning jumper with less than one second left on the clock. The victory gave the Wolves a 1-1 tie in their season series against Phoenix and improved their record to 22-24. The Wolves are just three game off the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Karl Anthony Towns continues to improve as he is having a banner season with 22.4 points, 12.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Andrew Wiggins is scoring 17.5 points along with 4.3 rebounds and 1 steal per game. But it has been the resurgent Derrick Roe who has sparked the Wolves. The 2011 NBA MVP is averaging 19.3 points and 4.8 assists off the Minnesota bench.
The Timberwolves are ranked 15th in the NBA in team scoring at 111.6 points per game. They are also 15th in passing at 24.4 points per game and only 21st off the glass with 44.4 points per game. Minnesota is ranked 20th in scoring defense as they allow their opponents to score 112.0 points per game.
The Phoenix Suns will be looking for revenge against the Minnesota Timberwolves who beat them by two points last Sunday on Derrick Rose’s game winning jumper with less than one second left to play in the game. The loss dropped Phoenix to 11-37 on the season but with the playoffs already out of the equation, it’s storylines like this that gives Phoenix motivation to win games.
Devin Booker leads the Suns with 24.5 points and 7.0 assists per game this season. Top rookie pick DeAndre Ayton is having a great first year with 16.4 points and 10.6 rebounds but he missed their last game with an ankle injury. T.J. Warren is also having a fine season with 18.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while newcomer Kelly Oubre has been a contributor with 14.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game this season.
The Suns rank 25th in team scoring at only 106.3 points per game. Phoenix is also #17 in passing at 23.9 assists per game and next to last in rebounds at 40.2 boards per contest. The Suns are allowing their opponents to score 115.0 points per game, the sixth worst in the entire league.
The Wolves are 5-5 SU in their last 10 games played. Minnesota is 1-3 SU in their last four road games. The Suns are 2-8 SU in their last 10 games played and are 2-3 SU in their last five home games played. Head to head, the Wolves are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games against the Suns.
These teams just played against each other last January 20th and it went down to Derrick Rose’s jump shot with less than one second left to play to settle the score. Rose scored 29 of his 31 points in the second half of that game and clearly, D-Rose is making his case for the All-Star game.
The Timberwolves are still two games below the .500 mark but you know what this team is capable of. They have Karl Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, two of the best young tandems in the NBA right now. The Suns also have their own 1-2 punch of Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton but Ayton is expected to miss this game with an ankle injury. If this year’s top rookie is a no-go, expect Towns to go town in this game just like he did on Sunday when he scored 28 points in the first half against the Suns.
Derrick Rose’s game-winner will be fresh on the minds of this young Phoenix team and understandably, revenge will be on top of their agenda on Tuesday night. But without Ayton again, this might be another struggle for Phoenix who are just 7-17 SU at home this season. Minnesota is a bad road team at 7-17 SU away from home but it’s hard to trust a Phoenix team that has lost 11 of their last 13 games played. We’re picking the Minnesota Timberwolves to beat the Phoenix Suns on 1/22/19.
Minnesota is 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games played. The T-Wolves are 1-3 ATS in their last four road games. Phoenix is 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games and 2-3 ATS in their last five games played at home. Head to head, the Suns are 6-3-1 ATS in their last 10 meetings versus the Wolves.
Phoenix is 8-0 ATS in their last 8 games against teams with losing records, 4-1 ATS in their last five game after suffering a loss and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games overall. Minnesota is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games against teams with losing records and 1-4 ATs in their last five games overall. The home team is also 3-1-1 ATS in their last five meetings and Minnesota is 2-6 ATS in their last eight games in Phoenix and 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven games overall against the Suns. These teams played less than 48 hours before and the game wa decided by a Derrick Rose jumper with less than a second to play. I think this is going to be close again but just like in the last game, the Suns win it ATS. Prediction: Suns +6
The over is 8-2 in the last 10 games played by Minnesota. The total has gone over is each of the last four road games played by the Timberwolves. The over and under are split 5-5 in the Suns’ last 10 games played and the over is 3-2 in the last five home games of Phoenix. Head to head, the over is 6-4 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams.
The Wolves have seen the total go over in each of their last three games and the total has gone over 228.5 in three out of their last four games played. Likewise, the Suns have gone over the total in three of their last four games played. These are two teams whose defenses cannot stop each other. I’m expecting the total to go over 230 points here. Prediction: Over 228.5
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