Minnesota Timberwolves are set to face the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA on Monday at the FedEx Forum. Three-point shooting became a nightmare for the Grizzlies because the Timberwolves are the eighth team in the Western Conference.
Memphis Grizzlies have played their last ten games to a 5-5 record but they are now looking forward to making it three successive victories after beating the Spurs 140-112 on Saturday.
Santi Aldama scored 29 points, Jaylen Wells contributed 22 points, the same as Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr contributed 19 points and 4 assists in the dominance win.
The Grizz are averaging 123.4 points per game this season, good for first in the NBA, but giving up an NBA-worst 115.1 points per game.
On the other hand, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been in decent form lately but will be itching to get a win after a lost to the impressive cavs 124-117 over the weekend.
Anthony Edwards lead the scoring basket with 28 points. Minnesota sank 47 percent of its shots from the floor and 15 of 38 from three-point range but was outscored 17-10 in the third quarter and did not come close to matching the fourth-quarter spree in the final period.
Minnesota’s Timberwolves score the 22nd mark in scoring with an average of 110.1 points per game, but they have a top-five defence, holding teams to 108.0 PPG.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have come from winning their previous four road games. In their latest game they were defeated 124-117 on home court by Cleveland Cavaliers in Target Center. Anthony Edwards bagged his 28 points, Julius Randle 20 and Rudy Gobert 17.
The last game in which Memphis Grizzlies claimed victory was a 140 – 112 blowout. It followed it up with another against San Antonio Spurs on the road at Frost Bank Center. Aldama made 29 points, Wells 22 points, Bane played and scored 22 points as well as dishing out 14 assists.
One of the best defensive teams in the NBA, the Timberwolves, have to demonstrate it on Monday afternoon. Minnesota permits 108.0 points per game which is fifth lowest in the NBA. With that, the Timberwolves only allow the fifth-lowest field goal shooting, the fifth lowest three-point shooting, and the sixth-lowest free throws made attempts per game. Well, it cannot be any worse than how the team has fared when the Timberwolves concede less than 115 points this season, with the record standing at 17-9. The spread is 6.5 which should be easy to beat because Memphis is very good on offense and the Timberwolves should be able to hold them under 115 points.
The Grizzlies will give some points. They give 115.1 points per game, and they surrender a good shooting area. The Grizzlies will also get themselves into foul. Minnesota scored an average of 125 points during their first game against the Grizzlies. Now the Grizzlies won that particular game against the Timberwolves but it was an excellent shooting game for Minnesota. Despite the above performance, Minnesota shot 56.6 per cent inside the three point line in that game, and 40.5 per cent outside it. If the Timberwolves are able to duplicate this effort they should be capable of making the grade on the basis of the spread.
The team that Memphis is, in the league today, is the best offensively. That is actually the highest size among all the NBA teams and the fifth highest field goal percentage. Memphis also hit a lot of three-point shots. They scored 127 points in the Grizzlies victory over the Timberwolves that was played earlier this month. Again the Grizzlies collected 21 offensive boards in the victory and Jaren Jackson Jr scored 33 points. One of the reasons for a success of the Grizzlies is that they can score points on a regular basis. If Memphis is able to score as they did tonight, then they will easily cover the spread.
