Phoenix (0-1) at Minnesota (1-0)
When: Tuesday, April 23rd 2024
Where: Target Center,
Minneapolis, MN
Time: 7:30 ET | TV: TNT
Opening Odds: Minnesota -4/214
In a series with a ton of star power, the Minnesota Timberwolves got the better of the Phoenix Suns in Game 1 of Western Conference first round series on Sunday. Now, the T’wolves, who haven’t had much postseason success, will try and hold home court when they meet in Game 2 on Tuesday night. Minnesota gave their fans immediate hope of a long postseason run with a convincing 120-95 triumph in the series opener. Phoenix is now +135 to win the series, with the Timberwolves at -160 after coming in as a small favorite.
These teams are getting awfully familiar with one another. This will be the fourth meeting since the beginning of the month. Phoenix won at home 97-87 back on April 5, then easily took care of Minnesota at home 125-106 on the final day of the regular season. Minnesota’s bench came through in a big way on Sunday, outscoring the Phoenix reserves 41-18. It was also a total mismatch on the boards (52-28) and the Timberwolves converted 20-of-22 free throws, while shooting 50 percent from the field.
PHOENIX SUNS
Kevin Durant put up a team-high 31 points, but managed only seven rebounds and turned the ball over five times. Durant also had a team-worst plus/minus rating of -20. Devin Booker was well below his average with 18 points on 5-of-16 shooting and a -15 rating. Jusus Nurkic was a non-factor in the paint, finishing with nine points and four rebounds. Royce O’Neal had a good game off the bench, scoring 14 points including four 3-pointers. Phoenix lost Game 1 to the Clippers in last year’s first round and won the series 4-1, so there’s still hope.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Anthony Edwards was fantastic on Sunday and looks ready to take this team to another level. He led all scorers with 33 points on 14-of-24 shooting and also had nine rebounds, six assists and a couple of steals. Karl-Anthony Towns was limited to to 26 minutes but still managed 19 points, while Rudy Gobert brought down 16 boards. Both Nickeil Alexander-Walker (18 points) and Naz Reid (12 points) were terrific off the bench with a plus/minus rating of 28 and 22 respectively.
Prediction:
This is the Minnesota team we’ve been waiting for. They have all the talent to make a deep run, but they shouldn’t overlook the veteran Suns. The Game 1 win will give the T’wolves some confidence after they failed to cover the spread in the previous nine meetings with Phoenix. Remember, this is a Minnesota team that missed the No. 1 seed by just one game. I’ll back them in Game 2 here.
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