The Houston Rockets travel to the Target Center to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
The Houston Rockets will be looking to continue their rebuild after taking Jalen Green as well as three other picks in the first round to help bolster their young roster. John Wall is expected to be traded sooner rather than later and the same can be said for Eric Gordon, so this season is about opportunity for young players like Danuel House Jr, Jae’Sean Tate and Kevin Porter Jr. The Rockets were the doormats of the league at times last season and I’m expecting more of the same this season.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves will be hoping to bounce back after injuries plagued them last season where they won just 23 games. Jarrett Culver and Ricky Rubio were both shipped away for Taurean Prince and Patrick Beverley. D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns will shoulder the bulk of the scoring duties along with Anthony Edwards while the Timberwolves need Malik Beasley’s perimeter shooting.
Looking at the betting trends, the Rockets are 5-1 ATS in their last six road games and 5-1 ATS in their last six games as an underdog. The Timberwolves are 1-4 ATS in their last five home games and 2-6 ATS in their last eight games playing on three or more days rest.
Head to head, the over is 12-4 in the last 16 meetings in Minnesota.
The Rockets were downright awful for most of last season and I don’t expect them to be much better given all the uncertainty around this roster. However, the Timberwolves were just as bad and now there’s rumors surrounding Karl-Anthony Towns and his commitment to this team. Beverley won’t be available for this game due to suspension, but I’m sticking with the Timberwolves to get the job done at home behind a big game from Edwards.