Julian AndrewsWeb Editorial AssociateTwitter
Western Conference Playoffs, First Round Game 2
Wolves at Rockets, 8:30 p.m. Toyota Center Fox Sports North, TNT, Buz’n 102.9
Take two.
After a heartbreaker on Sunday, the Wolves have another chance Wednesday night to steal a game on the road and snatch home-court advantage from the Rockets. To do so, the Wolves will need to replicate what worked in Game One and fix some things that didn’t.
Let’s start with the positives:
The Wolves held the Rockets to 104 points in the game, and only let them shoot 10-for-37 (27 percent) from three. That’s an excellent number considering Houston averages 15.3 threes on 36.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc. It’s very hard to determine based on one game if the Rockets were simply cold, or if the Wolves were doing something against them that made it harder for them to hit threes. Minnesota will certainly be watching the tape to determine if anything here is replicable though—if they can contain the Rockets this well again, they’ll have a real leg up in the series.
The Wolves also crushed the Rockets on the boards 47-37. This is certainly something the Wolves can and must do again. They are a lot bigger than the Rockets and should be winning the rebounding battle every night. Defensive possessions don’t end until the rebound is secured, and against an offense as efficient as Houston’s, the Wolves can’t afford to be giving away second chances.
Now for the less positive news. Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns had the lowest usage rates on the team in Sunday’s game, those two will need to get more involved for the Wolves to be successful. Both players shot under 40 percent from the field. Coach Tom Thibodeau had some things to say after the game about how to get Towns more involved, and as we pointed out, his performance on Sunday was quite the outlier. Look for him to come out strong in Game 2.
The Wolves will also need to figure out their own shooting issues. They were only 43.8 percent from the field in Game 1. If both teams regress to the mean a little bit, tonight’s game will probably be higher scoring than Sunday’s, but the Wolves will probably still try to keep the pace of the game down and play a half-court game. Trying to outrun the Rockets is a recipe for disaster.
Containing James Harden continues to be a priority for the Wolves, to the extent that such a thing is possible. However, if they can’t keep him in check, taking away his help is their second-best option. Other than Harden, only Chris Paul and Clint Capela reached double figures in game one, and Paul looked ineffective for much of the night. Harden is certainly capable of carrying games, but the Wolves have the ability to make it extremely tough for him.
The Wolves proved on Sunday that they won’t be an easy out for the No. 1 seeded Rockets, and this should be another fun matchup. Ryan Anderson will likely be returning to Houston’s lineup, bolstering the Rockets bench that was outscored 16-38 by the Wolves in Game 1. It won’t be easy, but a win tonight would be huge in this series.
The team at Fox Sports North will have the call, along with the nationally televised broadcast on TNT. The radio call will be on Buz’n 102.9.
Injuries:
Rockets: Ryan Anderson (ankle) is a game-time decision, Luc Mbah a Moute (shoulder) is out.
Wolves: No injuries to report.
Starting Lineups:
Rockets: PG – Paul, SG - Harden, SF - Ariza, PF - Tucker, C - Capela
Wolves: PG – Teague, SG – Butler, SF – Wiggins, PF – Gibson, C – Towns