Houston Rockets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game preview

How many times will Anthony Edwards yell “AYY REF” tonight?

The Houston Rockets open their second half of the season tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Houston’s tiebreaker situation is nice when you look at the teams in front of them and just behind them. Houston won their season series against the Grizzlies and the Clippers and lead the Lakers and Nuggets 1-0 with two games to play.

The problem is when you look further behind Houston. When you look at teams currently in the play-in, things look a bit more dire. Houston has a 2-1 lead over Dallas, but with one more to play. However, the Rockets have already lost their series against Sacramento (0-2 with one to play) and Golden State (1-3 and still one more to go in San Francisco).

Tonight’s opponent holds a 2-1 lead in the season series. Each team took the first road contest. Houston won a fun overtime game, while Minnesota had a furious late-game comeback to win Houston in late December. When the teams met earlier this month, Anthony Edwards took over from the free throw line field in the fourth quarter and Houston had no answer. Ant didn’t play in the All-Star Game, but no one actually believes that he’s hurt. If he gets to the line 10+ times, Houston will lose. He’s also the subject of today’s poll question.

Jabari Smith Jr. returns to action tonight for the first time after missing 22 games with a broken hand. His defense has been sorely missed. His length and quickness allow him to cover any position and it’s clear that Alperen Sengun hasn’t been the same defensive presence since Jabari went down.

The game will also be on national television, as this game got flexed to ESPN. It’s still on the normal platforms as well. Houston only has one national television game remaining, which is next week against the Victor Wembanyama-less San Antonio Spurs. My initial thought was that it could get flexed away from Houston, but looking at the schedule that night makes it seem unlikely as the only other game not played in the East is Sacramento at Utah.

We’ll be in the Playback room tonight, so you should come join to watch the Rockets and talk about the game. Remember, we get a handful of VIP passes that we give out to anyone who wants to watch the game. No League Pass necessary!

Tip-off

8:30pm CT

How To Watch

ESPN, Space City Home Network, and Playback

Injury Report

Rockets

Fred VanVleet: GTD

Cody Zeller: GTD

Timberwolves

N/A

The Line (as of this post)

N/A

Check here for updates

Looking ahead because we can

Tomorrow night in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz