LA Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves face off in battle of hot, cold teams

On Tuesday night, the red-hot LA Clippers will face off against Karl Anthony-Towns and the slumping Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis.

Los Angeles (44-30) has won nine of their previous ten games and will look to continue surging upwards against Minnesota (33-40). The Clippers are the only team in the NBA who have had this success in the previous ten games. Minnesota, a team that made the postseason last year, has already been eliminated from playoff contention this season.

This will be the third and final game between the Clips and T-Wolves this season. LAC can win the season series with a victory in this matchup, as the current series record is 1-1.

The Clippers have been blazing hot, and at the perfect time too. They have been playing well over .500 ball since the NBA trade deadline. The Clippers are a winning team on the road (21-17), however, the Timberwolves (despite their overall record) are a solid opponent at home (23-11).

There will be an exciting matchup at the center position, as it seems there always is for games I preview. Our young Ivica Zubac versus Minnesota’s young Karl Anthony-Towns. Both bigs are over seven feet tall and are promising pieces to their teams’ future.

Towns is an absolute monster and will certainly be a challenge for Zubac to contain. Per ESPN, no player in the NBA has more 30p/20r games than Towns, who has three. The Clippers will certainly need a stronger defensive performance from Big Zu than an offensive one.

Look for rookie point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to have another strong performance tonight. He is currently on a seven-game streak of double-digit scoring, his longest streak of the season, per ESPN.

After a couple of troublesome games post-NBA-trade-deadline, SGA has turned back up the heat. Throughout March, Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 14 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.1 rebounds per game. Additionally, his three-point shooting has become increasingly accurate in March. The rookie is averaging 2.4 three-point attempts per game while making 66 percent of those shots.

LAC is at a rest disadvantage in this matchup, albeit a small one. Minnesota has had two days of rest, as they last played on Saturday in a victory against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Clippers have one day of rest, last playing Sunday when they beat the New York Knicks.

This matchup could be an offensive battle between the two teams. Per Basketball-Reference, the Clippers rank ninth in the league in offensive rating (112.3). The Timberwolves are slightly lower, sitting at 11th in the league with a rating of 111.6. These are two teams who are above average in terms of offensive capability.

ESPN gives the Clippers a lower chance of winning this game than the Timberwolves, 41.2% to 58.8%, respectively. This is a bit puzzling because the Clippers are clearly the better team, do not have major injuries and are not experiencing any severe struggles on the court.

Regarding injuries, the Clippers will be without guard Landry Shamet and forward Luc Mbah a Moute. Mbah a Moute will most likely be shut down for the whole season. Shamet suffered a left ankle impingement and is expected to miss this matchup. Site Expert Garrett Chorpenning covered the details of Shamet’s injury.

The Timberwolves are an injury-ridden team heading into this matchup. Minnesota could be without Taj Gibson, Derrick Rose, Robert Covington, Jeff Teague, and Luol Deng. These are all important pieces to the T-Wolves success on the floor. Minnesota could struggle without them.

The LA Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves will take the floor tonight at 5:00 PM PST. With a win, the Clippers would clinch a postseason berth.