The Minnesota Timberwolves actually hoped they’d be completed with the Phoenix Suns once they confronted them on the ultimate day of the common season. The Suns gained their first two regular-season matchups by double digits, but when Minnesota might simply steal the season finale, it couldn’t solely safe the No. 2 seed within the Western Convention, however relegate the Suns to the Play-In spherical.
As a substitute, the Suns made it a clear sweep of the season collection, and now the Timberwolves should beat them 4 instances out of seven simply to make it via the primary spherical. They will have to take action whereas reintegrating Karl-Anthony Cities into the lineup after lacking a lot of the finish of the season as a result of a knee harm, and they’re dealing with a Suns group that, whereas extra not too long ago constructed, has much more playoff expertise within the combination.
So can Minnesota overcome its latest struggles towards Phoenix? Or will the Suns upset the Timberwolves on this No. 3 vs. No. 6 battle? Here is every little thing it’s worthwhile to know earlier than Sport 1.
Timberwolves vs. Suns
- Date: Saturday, April 20 | Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Goal Middle — Minneapolis
- TV channel: ESPN | Stay stream: fubo (attempt without cost)
- Odds: Timberwolves -1.5; O/U 214.5
Storylines
Timberwolves: The Suns had been in-built a lab to hassle Minnesota’s protection, particularly. Rudy Gobert is the league’s greatest drop-coverage defender. You beat drop-coverage with mid-range jumpers. The Suns took extra of them this season than anybody however Chicago and made a better proportion than anybody however Indiana. Good luck letting Kevin Durant and Devin Booker settle into clear mid-range appears to be like. So what’s Minnesota’s pivot? Can Gobert efficiently defend on the degree of the display? Or will head coach Chris Finch have one thing else up his sleeve?
Suns: Everyone knows Phoenix can rating. Getting stops would be the greater concern. The Suns received a good attract that the Timberwolves are solely a mean offense. That also does not imply they’ve a simple reply for Anthony Edwards. Who’s Phoenix even going to attempt on Minnesota’s All-Star guard? Will they deploy all-defense, no-offense specialists like Josh Okogie? Or will they make the perfect of a foul scenario with their scorers?
Prediction
That is going to be a back-and-forth collection, however the preliminary matchups favor Phoenix. The Timberwolves will want time to regulate their scheme to beat the Suns. For now, I am taking Phoenix to throw the opening punch. The Decide: Suns -1.5
