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Scouting Report | Wolves at Rockets

The Game 

The Wolves are in Houston on Sunday night trying to end their three-game road trip with a win.

The Rockets are 43-26 and currently hold the West’s No. 2 seed. Most people expected Houston to be somewhere in the top half of the Western Conference come March, but it’s been a long road for Houston after a slow start. Even now they’re still in a battle for positioning—just 3.5 games separate them from the No. 8 Clippers.

Minnesota has a record of 32-37 with 23 of those wins coming at home. The Wolves have definitely struggled on the road this season.

The Wolves have already beaten the Rockets twice this season—on December 3 and February 13. With a victory, the Wolves would sweep the season series with the Rockets for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.

What: Wolves at RocketsWhere: Toyota CenterWhen: 8 p.m. CTWatch: ESPNListen: 830 WCCO

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Battle Of The Stars

Both the Rockets and the Wolves are led by players who are at the absolute top of their game right now.

Since the All-Star break, Karl-Anthony Towns is leading the NBA in points per game with 34 and James Harden is a close second with 33.8. The two stars are both averaging 3.1 three-pointers per contest.

While the two players will not be directly matched up with one another since they play different positions, this game will definitely be defined by their respective performances. That could be good news for the Wolves. Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging a very solid 24.5 points, 10 rebounds and four assists against the Rockets this season. However, the Rockets haven’t seen Towns since he returned from the All-Star break in such incredible form.

The other side of that coin is obviously stopping Harden. The last time Harden saw the Wolves this happened…

Fingers crossed we see something like that again on Sunday. Harden will definitely be paying attention to Okogie this time, that's for sure.

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Style Clash

To say the Wolves and the Rockets play different styles is a massive understatement. The Rockets lead the league in three-pointers and are build around a generational perimeter player. 

The Wolves are built around a generationally talented post player and get most of their points in from two-point range. They also class the offensive glass very hard and lead the league in second-chance points.

So far this season, this battle of conflicting styles has favored the Wolves. Karl-Anthony Towns is almost impossible to guard and if the Wolves’ perimeter players can do a good job contesting Houston’s three-point shots, it could be a very fun night for the Wolves. 

Injury Report:

Wolves: TBA

Rockets: TBA

Probable Starters: 

Wolves: PG – Jones, SG – Okogie, SF – Wiggins, PF – Saric, C - Towns

Rockets: PG – Paul, SG – Harden, SF – Gordon, PF – Tucker, C – Capela