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The wait is finally over. The Minnesota Timberwolves waited 13 years to make the playoffs while the Houston Rockets spent the best part of the last two months of the regular season waiting for the playoffs.
Houston Rockets added Chris Paul at the start of the season and ended with a franchise-best tally of 65 wins and home court advantage for the playoffs. They have the odds-on favorite for the MVP, James Harden, leading the league in points and third in assists. In Clint Capela, they have the player with the best field goal percentage in the regular season and one who averages nearly 2 blocks a game.
Minnesota Timberwolves arrive into the playoffs on the back of Karl-Anthony Towns' best performance yet. The 22-year-old finished the season with 68 double-doubles and was fourth in terms of rebounds per game. They will also have the fit-again Jimmy Butler and a largely injury-free roster that will look to take the NBA playoffs 2018 by storm.
Ahead of the highly anticipated first round clash between Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves, let us take an in-depth look at how both teams stack up.
Strengths
Houston Rockets
What can be said about the Houston Rockets that hasn't already been written about? They have two elite playmakers in Chris Paul and James Harden. They have one of the best rim protecting centers in Clint Capela, have an experienced wing and one of the strongest benches in the NBA.
A testament to just how dominant they were this season can be seen by the fact that they obliterated the NBA record for most threes in a season. Not only are they one of only two teams to make over 1,000 threes this season but they have made almost twice as many threes per game as the Timberwolves have. A three-point shooting team that has depth and knows how to defend, they are basically every modern NBA coach's dream.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Offensive efficiency will be the mantra for the Timberwolves as they look to upset the Rockets. They shot 47.6 % from the field during the regular season (tied for the fourth-best shooting percentage of any team, only behind the Warriors, Pelicans and the Bucks) and are the second-best FT shooting team in the league, only behind the Warriors.
Karl-Anthony Towns has the potential to rack up as many boards as he wants in a game, Jimmy Butler is built for taking over close games in the playoffs and despite the fact that this is the first time in 13 years that Minnesota has made the playoffs, they have plenty of veteran experience in Jamal Crawford, Taj Gibson, and Derrick Rose.
The fact that they don't turn the ball over very often is a trait that is often overlooked. But against an offense that will punish you if you do, it helps to have the league's second-best team when it comes to turnovers per game.
#2 Weaknesses
Houston Rockets
How do you pick out bones from a side that finished with the league's best record, shattered the franchise record for regular season wins and obliterated the NBA record for most three-pointers in the season?
The short answer is that you don't. But if you still wanted to look at areas where they can be exploited, you only need to look at the bench. The injury to Luc Mbah a Moute and Ryan Anderson started the whole "rest vs rhythm" debate all over again and also means that at least, to begin with, the Rockets won't have the depth they had all season. They want the defense they had all season from the bench and the offensive output will be reduced as well.
Minnesota Timberwolves
To be able to beat Houston, you need to have a team that can outscore them. While having a solid defense definitely does help, you cannot always guard two elite playmakers and everyone else as well.
This is where Minnesota fade into oblivion, not only are they dead last in both three-point makes and attempts this season, they have the 23th ranked defense in the league. The fact that they don't have the defense to keep the Rockets down nor the three-point shooting that would give them an edge is a huge disadvantage, especially when you are going up against a team that is fresh from annihilating the all-time NBA record for three-pointers.
As good as Karl-Anthony Towns is defensive, if Tom Thibodeau does what most teams do and run a heavy-switching scheme, he will have to guard James Harden, which is just a recipe for disaster. He will have to do that on top of ensuring that Clint Capela doesn't continue having a field day (he averaged 18.8 points and 10 boards per game against Minnesota this season) off of pick-and-rolls with Harden.
#3 Opportunities and threats
Houston Rockets
The only major area of concern for Houston is their durability in their playoffs. For all the all-star credentials that Paul and Harden boast of, neither has a ring next to their name. And their major threat will come from the playoff ghosts of their star duo and coach Mike D'Antoni.
No player has played more playoff games (76) without reaching the conference finals than Paul and while he does average 21.4 points, 9.4 assists and 38.1 percent on threes in the playoffs, he just hasn't been able to get close to playoff superstardom. Although Harden has made it to an NBA Finals in 2012 with OKC, he was a no-show in that game and game 6 of last year's conference semis against the Spurs that saw the Rockets being eliminated.
Both players will want to improve on that and an added incentive of becoming the first Rockets team since 1997 to sweep a playoff series will be on their minds.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The one big advantage for the Timberwolves to start the series is the fact that the Rockets will be without Luc Mbah a Moute, Ryan Anderson is doubtful and there are question marks over Eric Gordon's ankles. All of that means that the bench, which was a huge factor in the Rockets' ability to just rip team to shreds, will not be at full strength.
Given how Thibs likes to overwork his starters and not give the bench as many minutes, the match-up between the starters of Minnesota and the bench of the Rockets should be one that goes in just one direction. If the Timberwolves can use the momentum they get from outscoring the bench, they could conceivably have enough to win a game or two.
That and the fact that Jimmy Butler is one of the few players in the league, who can guard Harden and keep him quiet, should give them enough hope that they can come out of this series with their heads held high.
#4 X-Factor
Houston Rockets
On a team that has Harden, Paul and Capela, the work of a journeyman wing can often be overlooked. But make no mistake, Trevor Ariza is an integral part of the Rockets set-up and the 32-year-old will arrive into the playoff fresher than ever before.
Although Ariza averages just 11.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game this season in which he has shot 41.2 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from behind the arc, he is one of the most important cogs in the Rockets machine. When he shoots well, they usually win and defensively, he is still one of the best wings in the league and his experience, from the 2009 Lakers championship side, will be key.
Minnesota Timberwolves
While a large part of the Timberwolves success this season was down to Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler, the former No.1 pick in the draft, Andrew Wiggins could well be the difference between the side being swept or not.
Although this will be his first-ever playoff series, an on-fire Wiggins is simply unguardable. Just ask the Rockets, against whom he has shot 39 percent from beyond the arc in his career. With all the focus on Butler and Towns, Wiggins could be the one that sneaks under the radar and gets his side on the board.
The 23-year-old hasn't been the most consistent this season but if he shows up in the playoffs and gets hot, it will be a sight to behold.
#5 Prediction
Even in the age of small-market teams that have shown they can make their mark by hanging on to their stars, playoff basketball often comes down to who has the best team. On paper, not only do the Rockets have the better starting five but also far more strength in depth.
While the Timberwolves have enough in the tank to ensure the games are more competitive than it was in the regular season, where they swept 4-0 by margins of 18, 18, 18 and 9 points, it is still hard to see beyond a comfortable first-round win for the Rockets. 1997 was the last time the Rockets swept a playoff opponent and while they have a chance of repeating that feat, a fit-again Jimmy Buttler should ensure that the Wolves at least go back with a win to show for their playoff efforts.
Rockets beat the Timberwolves 4-1
