Houston Rockets: 5 keys to series vs. Timberwolves
5. Don’t take victory for granted
The first fact that people will look at here is that the Rockets swept the Timberwolves in four games this season. That is of course relevant, but looking closely at the matchup, the sweep isn’t quite the harbinger of guaranteed success that it seems to be.
First off, in half of the games of the sweep, the Timberwolves didn’t have Jimmy Butler healthy to close the game out. Jimmy Butler is on that team to be a two-way superstar and to close out games. So right there, the sweep is skewed.
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Secondly, the Rockets may be first in offense, but the Timberwolves were ranked third… not too far behind a historic offensive squad. The Timberwolves have a lot of ways to get it done, and the only way the Rockets can derail that is by exploiting their youth and making them take ill-advised shots.
The good news is that with a fully healthy roster, the Timberwolves have had limited success against high octane powerhouse teams. They beat the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 20, and they beat the Golden State Warriors on March 11. However, the last time they beat a contender with Jimmy Butler in the lineup was against the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 14.
Outside of that, the most impressive feats for this team in the regular season are beating the Indiana Pacers on New Year’s Eve and beating the Oklahoma City Thunder three out of four times.
The Timberwolves the quintessential young up-and-coming team; they win a lot of the games they are supposed to win, and often roll over for more established powerhouse teams. Houston needs to be ready to exploit that weakness.