NBA Matchup: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Portland Trail Blazers
Date: 25 January 2022
Time: 10 p.m. ET
The Minnesota Timberwolves will open their three-game road trip with a clash against the divisional rivals Portland Trail Blazers. The T-wolves defeat the Rip City 116-111 in their previous meeting on 13 December 2021. Anthony Edwards scored 24 points in their victory over the Blazers.
Minnesota Timberwolves season so far
The Minnesota Timberwolves continue to stay alive in the western conference playoff race as the seventh seed. The T-wolves have a record of 23-23 and enter this game after defeating the mighty Brooklyn Nets. The Timberwolves have the 9th offence in the NBA that is scoring 111.0 points per game, while their defence is 21st in the league as it allows 110.0 points to the rivals.
71 from the trio ???? pic.twitter.com/2CL6cWDLGp
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) January 24, 2022
The Timberwolves points and rebounds leader is Karl-Anthony Towns with his 24.3 points per game and 9.2 rebounds. D’Angelo Russell is averaging 19 points and 7.1 assists for Minnesota. Edwards is averaging 22.6 points, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals over the last 10 games for the Timberwolves.
Portland Trail Blazers season so far
The Portland Trail Blazers have continued to struggle as the tenth seed in the western conference with a record of 20 wins and 26 losses. On the contrary, Rip City enter this matchup on a two-game winning streak after defeating the Celtics and Raptors. Portland averages 106.3 points, 44.2 rebounds, 22.6 assists, 8.4 steals and 5.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.7 points per game.
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— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) January 24, 2022
Anfernee Simons is averaging 15.2 points and 3.4 assists for the Trail Blazers. Simons makes more threes per game than any other member of the Trail Blazers, averaging 2.7 three-pointers per game. Jusuf Nurkic is averaging 16.8 points over the last 10 games for Portland.
Minnesota Timberwolves vs Portland Trail Blazers Match Prediction
The Portland Blazers have been a positive surprise, especially without Damian Lillard. It seems that the Blazers are planning to battle for the play-in spot, although it didn’t seem that way a couple of weeks ago. Portland is in fine form at the moment, and hence are favourites to win this game. Minnesota is playing great basketball as well, but without Edwards, the scales are tipped towards the Blazers.
Injury Report
Minnesota Timberwolves
Patrick Beverley – Ankle – Game Time Decision
Portland Trail Blazers
Nassir Little – Knee – Game Time Decision
Dennis Smith Jr. – Ankle – Game Time Decision
Robert Covington – Finger – Game Time Decision
Cody Zeller – Knee – Expected to be out until at least Jan 26
Larry Nance Jr. – Knee – Expected to be out until at least Feb 2
Damian Lillard – Abdomen – Expected to be out until at least Mar 15
How to watch Minnesota Timberwolves vs Portland Trail Blazers?
The game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves will be televised locally on Fox Sports North and NBC North West. The match can also be live-streamed with an NBA League Pass.
Also read: NBA Trade Rumors: Can LA Lakers Trade Russell Westbrook to Houston Rockets for John Wall?
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