If you’re the Minnesota Timberwolves you must be feeling really good after the first two games of the series vs Phoenix. All the doubters have gone silent and Minnesota has the Suns on the ropes following two dominant performances, especially on the defensive end. Will that continue on the road in Game 3? The Suns won both meetings at home during the regular season by double-digits, so the T’Wolves are facing an uphill battle here. One thing they have to continue doing is playing physical basketball. I’ve been impressed with Jaden McDaniels so far, he has showed no fear going head-to-head against Kevin Durant and also dropping 25 points on the other end. Minnesota is 10-4 ATS in their last 14 road games, however at Phoenix they’ve failed to cover in 6 straight visits.
I’d argue the Suns have been the biggest disappointment so far this postseason. A team with a big 3 of Durant, Booker and Beal has failed to crack the 100 point mark in back-to-back games, that has to feel very deflating if you’re a Suns fan. They also had some bad luck on the injury front, losing their best three-point shooter Grayson Allen who twisted his ankle in both games and is likely to miss the rest of this series. We’ve seen this movie before though, Phoenix was in a similar situation last year when they were down 2-0 against the Nuggets in the West semi finals. They were able to respond with two dominant performances on the offensive end which leveled the series, led by Durant and Booker. We’ve not yet seen those two flourish in these playoffs, tonight could be the night as they find themselves in familiar surroundings.
