The Minnesota Timberwolves host the Toronto Raptors at the Target Center on Thursday, March 5, at 8 PM ET.
The Timberwolves are 39-23 and fourth in the West, while the Raptors are 35-26 and fifth in the East. At home, the Timberwolves are 21-11; on the road, the Raptors are 19-10 this season.
The Timberwolves’ last game was on Tuesday, where they beat the Grizzlies 117-110, while the Raptors come in off a 111-95 loss to the Knicks on Tuesday. The Timberwolves are on a four-game win streak while the Raptors hope to shrug off their loss to the Knicks in this clash.
This is the second meeting of the season between the two teams, with the Timberwolves emerging as winners after their 128-126 win in February.
Anthony Edwards leads the Timberwolves with 29.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, while Julius Randle has put up 21.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.3 assists.
For the Raptors, Scottie Barnes is at 19.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 5.5 assists, while Brandon Ingram is contributing 22.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists.
Injury Report
Timberwolves
Joe Ingles: Out (Personal reasons)
Raptors
Collin Murray-Boyles: Out (left thumb sprain)
Chucky Hepburn: Out (knee)
Brandon Ingram: Day-to-Day (left thumb sprain)
Why The Timberwolves Have The Advantage
The Timberwolves will enter this game with all their core rotation players available to them, giving them an opportunity to play at their best. They are also the clearly superior team on offense, with a 117.1 offensive rating compared to the Raptors’ middling 114.6 offensive rating. Their +4.0 net rating on the season shows that when their core rotation is engaged, it’s hard for most teams to create distance with them.
The Timberwolves are also coming into this game hot with a four-game win streak. They’ve been among the best teams in the NBA since the trade deadline, posting a 7-2 record over this stretch. Their biggest outgoing asset this season was Mike Conley, who’s already re-signed with the team.
The five-man lineup of Donte DiVincenzo, Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Randle, and Rudy Gobert has a +10.2 net rating in 639 minutes together. This is among the best in the NBA in terms of production and comfortably leads as the most-used five-man combination across the NBA this season. This familiarity is enough of a boost, let alone how well this group has performed together all season. All are available and ready to go against the Raptors.
Why The Raptors Have The Advantage
The Raptors have been a surprise success story in the East this season. The foundation of their success is their top-ten defense with a 112.9 defensive rating, tied with the Knicks for seventh-best in the NBA. While they’re marginally better than the Timberwolves (113.1) on that front, it’s a number they’ve built without having center Jakob Poeltl available for most of the season. However, the center will be on the court and serve as an intimidating interior presence for the Timberwolves.
Outside of that, the Raptors have streakier offensive players who could go off for big nights and deal the Wolves a big blow, even if Ingram stays ruled out. Immanuel Quickley and R.J. Barrett are two such players who could play well above their regular production to trouble the Timberwolves, while Barnes is capable of having big offensive nights himself.
X-Factors
Jaden McDaniels is well-known for his excellent defensive ability, capable of shutting down players across all five positions with his relentless style. However, he’s recently been ramping up his offensive production, as indicated by his 16-point outing against the Grizzlies on Tuesday. With Anthony Edwards wanting McDaniels to take a more active role in the offense, McDaniels could change the game with the numbers he puts up. He’s averaging 15.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists this season.
Winter acquisition Ayo Dosunmu has been a great addition off the bench. He’s averaged 11.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in nine games for the Timberwolves, adding a crucial two-way element to their bench lineups. His ability to make plays on and off the ball is crucial on a Timberwolves side that just wants solid role players to enhance the work of their star duo of Edwards and Randle.
The Raptors will hope guard Immanuel Quickley can be a multi-dimensional offensive threat. He’s averaging 17.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.1 assists this season, but is prone to inconsistent performances, which the Raptors will hope doesn’t happen against the defensively solid Timberwolves.
R.J. Barrett falls into a similar camp as Quickley, as he’s talented enough to be a game-changer but struggles with consistency. He’ll be relied upon as a scorer if Ingram winds up missing the game, but that’ll likely be a secondary task behind ensuring he can slow Edwards production down in the shooting guard matchup.
Predictions
The pick is the Timberwolves. Their ninth-best defense, coupled with the superstar production of Edwards, is a strong indicator that they have what it takes to beat the Raptors. While the Raptors can challenge with a strong shotmaking night, the Timberwolves’ ability to maximize results in close games bodes well for this Thursday night clash.
Prediction: Timberwolves 112, Raptors 101
