Tonight two bottom teams from Northwest Division will face off against each other at Target Center, the home ground of Timberwolves.
The visiting side, Denver Nuggets are currently holding a record of 1W-1D(lost after draw)-1L and if they manage to win the upcoming fixture, they would be back at .500. Not only that, but it would help them bounce back after 2 consecutive losses against Portland (113:115) and Toronto (105:102). Nuggets did in fact win their first match of the season against New Orleans Pelicans (102:107), but failed to repeat their success for the next 2 matches. They can feel a bit unlucky, as all of their losses were really close (2-3 points). It just seems as there has been some kind of curse cast on them. In their previous match-up against Raptors, Denver Nuggets were trailing by 13 points by the end of 1st half, and they couldn’t make it back from that deficit. Despite beating their opponent in both of the following quarters (26-35), (17-18), they failed short of 3 points in the end. Barton, Muiday and Gallinari all added 16 points to the scoreboard for the Nuggets. Jusuf Nurkic proved himself with double-double (13 points, 18 rebounds and 5 blocks). Nuggets shot 40.7% from the field and gave up the ball 8 times. Looking at their away record, Nuggets don’t seem as a strong team on the road, losing 5 matches out of 8.
Minnesota Timberwolves will be welcoming Nuggets at Target arena hoping to repeat their showing from pre-season, when they won (105-88) and to get back to .500 with a win tonight.
After losing 2 opening matches of the season, Timberwolves left Grizzlies with no chances at their opening match on the home ground (116:80). After the first quarter, Timberwolves led by 13 points, and they did not stop there. The first half ended with 26 lead by the home side, and it was clear Grizzlies have got zero to none chances to come back. And so it happened, the 3rd quarter ended in 38 point lead, following a 19-21 4th quarter. Zach LaVine was the best scorer of the match, with 31 points, which led Timberwolves to victory. Dieng and Wiggins both contributed 17 points, whereas we could see Towns posting a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The absence of Ricky Rubio was filled by rookie Kris Dunn, who had 10 points, 6 assists and 5 steals.
In that match, Timberwolves shot 55.1% from the field and gave up the ball 21 times.
Missing players;
– Minnesota Timberwolves: Ricky Rubio
– Denver Nuggets: Darell Arthur, Gary Harris, Will Barton
Verdict & Prediction
Currently unbeaten at home, Timberwolves are hoping to add another win to this season record. Despite losing 2 of the opening matches, they have bounced back big time in the last match against Grizzlies. With that they showed a lot of personality and their strength when playing at home. On the other side, Denver are showing poor performances when playing away from home, which has been happening for a while in the last few seasons. In addition, Barton will not be able to help his team tonight, which will help Timberwolves. Pick Minnesota to build on their win and continue with good performances, especially when playing at home.
Prediction : Minnesota Timberwolves -3.00 points
Odds : 1.95 5Dimes (alternatively you can take -3.50 at 2.00 at Pinnacle or SBOBET)
