Minnesota Timberwolves vs Los Angeles Clippers

This next assignment in the NBA will have the LA Clippers headed to play the Minnesota Timberwolves. The sixth-placed Clippers will be the favorites against their 10th placed hosts. 

Most recently the Timberwolves have been on a three-game losing streak that ultimately forced them out of the post-season. It was a 119-105 defeat to the Pistons what has become the 17th loss of the falls this year. Anthony Edwards scored 53 points in Detroit and was the only player on this team to spend more than 20 points including game and career-high record.

The Clippers are already down this regular season set after a pair of defeats. They want to prevent getting swept in this third and last clash. 

Ty Lue’s men are flying in after a 131-105 beatdown of the Hawks last game that put an end to their two-game losing streak. But the biggest highlight for them was Kawhi Leonard who helped claim the victory. 

Coming off the bench for the first time in the competition since April, Leonard was a morale boost for his team after delivering 12 points and nine rebounds in about 20 minutes. He is an integral part of that team.
LA Clippers have been on a string of successive road loses. They played their latest match at Intuit Dome team’s home advantage and defeated the Atlanta Hawks with a 131-105 score. Powell contributed 20 points while Zubac and Amir Coffey had 18 and 17 points for the team respectively.

In the three recent games played Minnesota Timberwolves have been the losers. Recently,madaa on the road they played a match against the Detroit Pistons in Little Caesars Arena where they were walloped 119-105. Outside of this, the bench scored 53 points with Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle contributing 17 points each and Naz Reid 9 points.

Interestingly, the last time the two teams faced each other they trounced the Clippers, the score being 108-80 in favour of the Wolves and this game was played at Intuit Dome. For the Wolves they have managed three in a row against the Clippers. They also have won 8 of the last 10 times the two teams met each other.

In those two games, James Harden was a tale of two players. He helped the Clippers cover the spread in his first game by scoring 20 points on 7 of 10 shots. He then played poorly in the lopsided defeat, scoring only five points and going one for ten from the field. Ivica Zubac was reliable in both games; in the one the Clippers covered, he shot 8 for 9 and scored 16 points. Amir Coffey, meanwhile, scored 12 points in each of the two games. In the game where the Clips covered, Kevin Porter scored 17 points on 6 for 10 shots and was unavailable when the Wolves dominated them, demonstrating his importance.

Anthony Edwards' performance is suffering as a result of receiving double teams. Edwards continues to shoot 44.4 percent from the field and average 25.3 points per game in spite of the additional defender. However, in the lopsided victory over the Clippers, he only scored 16 points despite shooting 5 for 14 from the field, including 5 for 9 from the 3-point line. He was solid from the triples, but for some reason he was unable to convert a shot when driving to the net.

How well this team performs will depend on the defense. In the most recent game, they held the Clippers to 34.9 percent shooting, including 27.5 percent from three-point range. In addition, Minnesota forced 14 turnovers.

If Edwards can convert his shot attempts and keep Randle and the others interested, the Wolves will cover the spread. The defense then has to keep Leonard in check while making Zubac and Harden shoot poor shots.