Game Preview #52 – Timberwolves vs. Rockets

On February 7, 2025By Littum

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Houston Rockets
Date: February 6, 2025
Time: 19:00 CST
Location: Target Center
Television Coverage: Fanduel Sports Network North
Radio cover: Wolves App/Iheart Radio

Wolves vs. ROCKETS: Time to dig deeply or go home

Timberwolves went into their five-game home state that drove high and felt they finally had their season on track. Five straight wins, including some big wins over Dallas, Denver and Phoenix. It was all together perfect: Five right at home, four of them against bottom feed. It should have been a launch pillow.

Instead, we have seen a team of sputter, cough and try to get the engine back up while losing two of their first three. First they fell one to a Wizard team that had not won since the New Year, and then followed it up by letting Keegan Murray torch them for a quarter before they stayed late but fell to Sacramento. Wednesday night matchup with Chicago? It should have been a business trip. And in the first six minutes it was. Wolves go up 27-6, Edwards cook, bulls look dead.

And then … yes, you already know what happened. Minnesota turned into “Let’s make this harder than it should be” wolves again. They let a 21-point lead disappear, let the bulls hang around and transform what should have been a “play-the-gen-in-the-quarter” type of game for a dog fight in the third quarter.

Yes, they eventually pulled away, and yes, Ant delivered a 49-point masterpiece that felt like a Jordan-at-the-Garden kind of game. But the real question that went into II evening: did they burn too much energy just to beat the bulls? For now, they don’t have time to recover until they face a rested Rockets team that has been one of their toughest matchups throughout the season.

Houston: A real problem

This is the third time these two teams have been exposed to this season and the first two were absolute wars.

The NBA Cup disaster. The wolves blew a lead in the fourth quarter in Houston, couldn’t get a bucket late and let Rockets steal the victory overtime. One is still stabbing.
The 16-point miracle comeback. Down double digits in the fourth woke up Wolves finally woke up, played some defense and stole the game late. But it was a game they had no business of winning.

Now both teams are fighting for positioning in the West and let’s be real: If the wolves want to avoid play-in and actually host a playoff series, they need this one. The position is too tight. The error margin is too small. If they let Houston go out of Target Center with a win, Wolves will at best be 2-3 on a homeland that should have been 4-1 minimum.

Keys to the game:

1. Stifle Tower should show up

Rudy Gobert had one of his worst matches of the season last time against Houston. The Alps Sengun absolutely cooked him. Post-ups, footwork, pump-falsification-bed put to the blender in the blender and made him a smoothie. If it happens again? Minnesota is toast.

GOBERT must be locked from the leap. Competition shoots, cleaning up the glass, make sure Houston doesn’t get a million second chance, which was a huge problem at their last meeting. If he lets Sengun be rolling again, it will be a long night.

2. Protect the three-point line (for real this time)

Houston bombs away from deep, and let’s be honest: Minnesota’s circumference defense has at best been drawn the last few matches. The wizards got too many open looks. Kings shot out the lights early. Bulls – yes, Bulls – had a stretch where they couldn’t miss from three.

The wolves cannot let it happen against Houston. No lazy closeouts. No unnecessary gambler. Just disciplined, hard nose defense. The good news? This team has the defensive wings to make life miserable for the rockets. Edwards, McDaniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaylen Clark have to swift the circumference, make Houston’s shooters uncomfortable and force them into bad shots.

3. Keep the ball in motion, avoid drought

Wolves’ random five minutes of stretches, forgetting how to play offense, have killed them all season. It almost cost them the game against Bulls as they began to settle down with disputed triangles and ISO balls instead of just attacking the edge.

This offense ants too easily when things stop flowing. No randall means no “bully ball” post-ups. No Divincenzo means fewer immediate triangles. So the wolves have to make good looks. It means:

Move the ball. Don’t just dribble for 12 seconds and launch a bad shot.
Attack the edge. Force Houston to collapse, create kick-outs and get to the line.
Play smart. No slurked passport and without control drive to the basket.

4. Anthony Edwards must be Superman (again)

The wolves lack 40+ points for offense without Randall and Divincenzo. And last night Edwards did what superstars do – he took over. The 49-point game was one of the best performances of his career, but can he follow it up on tired legs?

The wolves need at least 30 from him tonight. It may ask a lot, but this is the type of game where franchise players prove their value. Rockets throw several defenders against him, trying to catch him early and dare the rest of wolves to beat them.

So Edwards must:

Stay aggressive. Attack the edge, forcing the judges to make calls.
Stay effective. No hero balls when his legs are shot.
Trust his teammates. Put the guys up when Houston is a duties to stop him.

Oh, and maybe, just maybe, the judges could actually give him some respect? While shooting 18 free throwing against Chicago thanks to his focus on attacking the edge, there were more than a few times he was absolutely hacked without a flute. Can we at least pretend that this guy is an all-star?

Last Thoughts: This is a Must-Win

Let’s be blunt: If the wolves lose this game, the hometown is officially a failure. No sugar coating it. This should be the stretch that vaulted them into a top-four seed conversation. Instead, they would look at 2-3 in a five-game stretch toward mostly beatable teams.

Winning tonight keeps them in the fight. It keeps them within a marked distance from the upper seeds. It keeps the confidence in rolling. And maybe, just maybe, it prevents us from getting crazy and wondering which version of this team is going to show up every night.

Bottom line: No excuses. No mess around. Just find a way to win.