Minnesota has a cluster injury problem. The plus to that, though, is the Timberwolves have motivated youngsters playing for their futures with fresh legs. They also have probable Rookie-of-the-Year Andrew Wiggins, who has scored 20 or more points in seven of his last eight games, and veteran sharpshooter Kevin Martin, who scored 37 points last night.




The Trail Blazers are enduring a crazy traveling scheduling brought on by a make-up game at Brooklyn this past Monday. The Trail Blazers had to make the long trip to the East Coast and immediately fly back to the West Coast. They have a far more crucial game on deck Thursday night against the Warriors in Golden State. This marks their fourth game in six days.




I expect the Trail Blazers to have all hands on deck except of course for injured Wesley Matthews. But Portland has a weak bench and no reason to have their starters log major minutes.




The Timberwolves are the worst defensive team in the NBA although their porous defense may improve as their inexperienced players keep learning to play together. Portland, however, hasn't been great defensively either ranking 20th in defensive efficiency since the All-Star break.




It's hard to believe, but the Timberwolves held the Trail Blazers to their lowest-scoring game of the season in a 90-82 victory. Minnesota has defeated Portland in two of its three meetings this season. The Trail Blazers have defeated the Timberwolves at home six consecutive. The winning margin in those games is 12 points, much lower than this point spread.