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Sacramento Kings

Kings vs. Timberwolves Preview – By the Numbers

By espn1320 Mar 04, 2023

The Kings are rolling and they welcome in the Timberwolves to try and extend their winning streak to 6. The vibes around Sacramento are immaculate, and everyone is bursting at the seems with excitement. Let’s see what they can do against Minnesota to light the beam for a second straight night.

The Timberwolves come into the game relying more on their defense than they do their offense. They have the 10th ranked defense in the league, 23rd ranked offense, and 18th ranked Net Rating of +0.2, which makes sense for their 33-32 record. On defense, they like to go for steals, as they average 8.3 per game, 4th most in the NBA. They use those steals to get out in transition and score easy buckets, averaging 15.0 Fast Break Points per game, 9th most in the league. The Kings though do a great job of limiting Fast Break Points, only allowing 11.5, which is the fewest in the NBA. If the Kings can take care of the ball and play their game, they should be able to limit the Wolves easy buckets tonight.

As a result of the aggressive defense, Minnesota pays the price with 21.7 Fouls per game, 4th most in the NBA. Their opponents average 25.9 Free Throws per game, 2nd most in the league. The Kings are coming off of a game where they just went 26-of-26 at the line, and showed that they can win a free throw shootout if need be. Look for them to benefit at the charity stripe again tonight against the foul happy Wolves.

For Minnesota on offense, they rely more on 2-point Field Goals than 3-point attempts. Their 57.4 2FG% is 4th in the league while their 35.7% 3P% ranks 18th. The Timberwolves score 54.2 Points in the Paint per game, 8th most in the league. For the Kings on defense, they can try and limit the inside scoring from the Wolves, but as long as they don’t let them get going from both levels, they should be fine. Minnesota could score 80 Points in the Paint, but if they go cold from 3, the Kings should still be able to outscore them.

Speaking of outscoring, the Wolves have only scored 130 or more points 3 times this year, compared to the Kings 16 such games. The Kings just put up 128 shooting 30.3% from beyond the arc. The Kings have so many different ways to score that even if they aren’t hitting shots, or scoring inside, they can put in buckets elsewhere. I don’t think Minnesota has that ability.

A swing stat to keep an eye on tonight will be the Kings Mid-Range shooting. Sacramento’s 45.2% from the Mid-Range is 3rd highest in the NBA. The Timberwolves hold opponents to 37.4% shooting from the Mid-Range, lowest in the NBA. Fox loves the area, and Huerter, Barnes and Sabonis can all hit shots from the spot as well, but I’ll be keeping my eye on the spot to see how the Kings handle the good Wolves defense.

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