Kings vs. Timberwolves Preview – By the Numbers
16 years. It all can end tonight with a win against the Timberwolves. The Kings have their destiny in their hands after the T-wolves took down the Warriors last night and have a chance to clinch a playoff spot at home in front of a sell out crowd. Tonight feels like a game where the Kings are destined to win, but since this is a By the Numbers preview and not a By the Gut Feelings preview, let’s see what Sacramento can do to get the job done tonight.
The Timberwolves come into the game with the 23rd ranked offense and 11th ranked defense, and have a Net Rating of 0.0, which is very indicative of their 38-37 record. They’ve been playing well as of late with 3 straight wins and welcomed back Karl-Anthony Towns who just hit a huge game winning 3 last night against Golden State. In his two games back so far, KAT has averaged 18 Points, 4.5 Rebounds, and 3.0 Assists on 38.2/50/100% shooting splits. The 2P FG% is incredibly low, but anytime you have a center who is shooting 50% from 3, you have to be on high alert for him to step out at any given time and let them fly.
As always with the Timberwolves, the Kings will also have to look out for Anthony Edwards, who is averaging 24.6 Points, 5.8 Rebounds, 4.4 Assists, 1.6 Steaks, 0.7 Blocks on 46% shooting from the field and 36.9% from 3. Every single one of those stats is a career high for the young star. He hasn’t only upped his production this year, but his efficiency as well, and is a huge reason for the T-wolves recent climb.
In the 3 previous matchups, Harrison Barnes has been the main defender on Edwards, covering him for 19:45 minutes. The next closest is Fox at 5:12 minutes. The only player on the Kings roster to hold him to under 50% shooting though is Davion Mitchell, who he’s shot 1-of-4 (25%) against. Especially if Fox is out again tonight, look for Davion and Kessler Edwards to get some time on Edwards.
For the Kings, they have the drastic advantage on offense and should be able to take advantage of a few wholes in the Timberwolves defense. Minnesota allows opponents to shoot 37.3% from beyond the arc, 5th highest in the NBA. That should bode well for the Kings, who are shooting 37% from deep, 7th highest in the league. Kevin Huerter didn’t hit his 3’s last game but in the month of March is shooting 51.4% from 3. In his last 6 games, Keegan Murray has gone 26-of-56 (46.4%) from 3. Just those two players alone could carry a team.
Another area the Kings should be able to find an advantage is at the Free Throw line. The Timberwolves are a very aggressive team on defense, grabbing 8.2 Steals per game (5th), but they consequently average 21.7 Fouls per game (2nd). With all of those fouls, Minnesota’s opponents average 26.0 Free Throws per game, most in the league. The Kings take 25.4 per night, 6th most in the league.
Soak it in Kings fans. The Kings have a chance to clinch a Playoff spot with 8 games left. Not a Play-In spot like many of us were hoping for, but a legit top 6 spot. You don’t need any fancy numbers or stats to know this is a dream season. Enjoy it everyone, and let’s light that beam tonight.
