NBA Playoffs: Breakding down the Rockets vs. Timberwolves series

However, Houston has gone 1-6 ATS in its past seven games.

Their return to the NBA Playoffs.

After a long 14 years of not making the playoffs, the Minnesota Timberwolves clinched a spot after a win-or-go-home game against the Denver Nuggets. The Timberwolves are 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings in Houston, 0-4 ATS in the last 4 meetings and the over is 14-3 in the last 17 meetings. Nope! He hits Teague for the wide-open three.

Butler is the X-factor here for the Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves turned in a 47-35 record to finish 4 overall in the Northwest Division. He still averaged 21.3 points on 54.5% shooting and 12.3 rebounds and improved his 3-point shooting to an incredible 42.1%. They are the overwhelming favorites going into the first round of the playoffs. Taj Gibson had the best season of his career, being the glue guy that Minnesota needed. Can the T-Wolves pull off a big upset tonight in Game 1 of the Conference Quarterfinals or will the Houston Rockets roll? The Houston Rockets, led by James Harden and Chris Paul and MVP James Harden, finished with the best record in the National Basketball Association at 65-17.

Game 2 is Wednesday night in Houston. The Wolves will have to prevent the Rockets from getting in a groove from downtown. On one shirt, guards Chris Paul and James Harden are dressed in an astronaut’s uniform, as they plant a flag on the moon. He did, however, also dish out 10.3 assists to go with just 2.8 turnovers in these games. The Rockets are well aware of their potency, and the potential to inflect damage by doing what they usually do.

On a list of the#Houston Rockets’ best players, #Clint Capela may not even crack the top three. PJ Tucker and Ryan Anderson (9.3 points, five rebounds) each are key secondary options this season.

Luc Mbah a Moute will miss the entire first round of the playoffs for the Rockets, unfortunately. The Houston Rockets are shooting 36.2 percent from beyond the arc and 78.1 percent from the free throw line. He was the heart and soul of the Wolves this season.

Thibodeau said the Rockets did a good job of switching on Towns and using double-teams to slow him down, but admitted he has to do more.

At home, Houston is 17-23-1 ATS with 22 unders and 19 overs. But it wouldn’t stun me if this series goes six games or more. There’s not a lot of reliable depth for Minnesota. This was pretty damaging to his team considering the fact that Towns can be a very dominant scorer at the low post and that Houston does not have enough players to match his size.

After serving mostly as a two-guard since signing on March 8, Rose was backup point guard, playing more than three-times as much as usual backup Tyus Jones in Game 1.