The Houston Rockets head into Wednesday night’s matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves carrying a short injury list, while Minnesota comes in with three names on its report.
Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 4 at Toyota Center. Houston is 7-1, and Minnesota is 5-3.
For the Rockets, the injury report includes two players. The Timberwolves list Terrence Shannon Jr. as day-to-day with a hip issue, while Donte DiVincenzo is out with an Achilles injury and Anthony Edwards is out with a knee injury.
Houston’s early-season production has been driven by a balanced group at the top. Alperen Sengun leads the team with 23.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game.
Kevin Durant is right behind him at 20.8 points per game, while Jabari Smith Jr. is giving the Rockets 18.4 points and a team-best 3.1 made threes per game. Amen Thompson has added 16.0 points, and Fred VanVleet is contributing 6.8 assists per game.
The Rockets have also been piling up results on both ends. They average 119.3 points per game, which ranks sixth in the league, and they allow just 106.4, good for fourth. That leaves Houston with a +103 scoring differential and a 12.9-point edge per game over opponents.
On the glass, Houston is pulling down 44.1 rebounds per game, 14th in the NBA, while giving up 39.0. Sengun leads the way there too at 8.7 rebounds per game, which ranks 16th in the league. From long range, the Rockets are making 13.0 threes per game and shooting 39.1% from deep, third-best in the NBA.
Minnesota’s numbers are strong in their own right. The Timberwolves are scoring 119.0 points per game and allowing 107.6, giving them a +91 scoring differential and an 11.4-point average margin. They’re first in the league in rebounds at 49.8 per game, with Rudy Gobert leading the team at 12.0 boards per game.
The Timberwolves also bring serious perimeter volume. They hit 15.1 three-pointers per game, fourth in the league, and shoot 37.5% from beyond the arc, seventh-best in the NBA.
LaMelo Ball leads Minnesota with 3.3 made threes per game, and he also tops the team in scoring at 16.9 points per game. Jaden McDaniels is right behind him at 16.8 points, while Ayo Dosunmu is averaging 15.8 points and 4.1 assists.
Jonathan Kuminga is adding 12.3 points per game, and Terrence Shannon Jr. is putting up 12.0 points in seven games.
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Gobert still did enough in the box score to help Minnesota stay ahead, but the conversation around him has become bigger than one possession. For a player whose value is supposed to start with rim protection and defensive presence, every lapse gets magnified, and this latest one gave critics another opening while the Timberwolves kept pushing toward the finish. [Read more 🡒]