Houston at Minnesota
Time: 7 PM CT (TNT)
Spread: HOU -5.5
Total: 219
Odds c/o 5dimes
Don’t say you weren’t warned: Though the Houston Rockets are the dominant No. 1 seed in this series, the Minnesota Timberwolves really are unusually talented for a No. 8 seed.
Minnesota showed it in Game 3 in securing a 121-105 victory to pull the series to 2-1. Minnesota can even the count tonight on its home court but still finds itself 5.5-point underdogs to the Rockets. The game will tip off at 7 PM (Central) on TNT and has an over/under set at 219 points according to NBA oddsmakers at bookmaker 5dimes.
The differences in Game 3 from the first two games of the series can be traced to a couple Wolves rediscovering their mojo. Karl-Anthony Towns struggled badly through the first two games, but he came out with 18 points and 16 boards in Game 3 while posting a +6 for his 39 minutes of play. Jimmy Butler led all Wolves with 28 points on 10 of 19 shooting and added five dimes and seven boards while posting a +19 for his 41 minutes. All Timberwolf starters were positive for their differential as the Timberwolves took a 52-51 lead at the half and used a big third quarter to pull away.
James Harden had an off-night for Houston in hitting just 9 of 21 from the field, and the monster of this series, Clint Capela, was far more quiet with Towns really emerging as the superstar he has proven to be. Capela finished with a much more humble line in Game 3, totaling just seven points to go with his 11 boards. Ideally, Houston really needs Clint Capela to hold his own against Towns, as that is arguably the place where the Rockets are most outclassed, being far better than Minnesota in most other respects.
PJ Tucker and Trevor Ariza were non-factors at the 3/4 spots, and it stands to reason that Houston might be better off re-inserting sharpshooter Ryan Anderson back into the starting five. Eric Gordon also struggled shooting just 5 of 16 from the field, as the Rockets shot 45 percent from the floor in the game. Houston did limit its turnovers to just 10 but was out-rebounded by a 2-board margin and the Rockets also struggled from the line (64 percent on 25 attempts).
A lot of little things went wrong for Houston, but oddsmakers expect a 65-win team to gracefully rebound and claim the 3-1 edge that usually leads to series victories…
ATS TRENDS
| Houston | |
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| Minnesota | |
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