Jalen Green’s Career High 42 Points Helps Rockets Defeat Minnesota (119-114)

Jalen Green’s Career High 42 Points Helps Rockets Defeat Minnesota (119-114)

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by | Jan 23, 2023 | Featured, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA

All the talk the last couple of days has been about the 44-point performance from Anthony Edwards. Well, Jalen Green had a couple of days to sit on that before he could counter back in Houston. The Timberwolves were looking to make it a back-to-back victory against Houston but fell short.

 

Jalen Green came out aggressive in this game and from the tipoff, you knew he would make an impact. The thing about that is the fact we didn’t know he was going to go off the way he did. Tonight Green was able to get his shot going and he shot 50% from the 3-point line. When Jalen attacked he made the best play for his team and it didn’t matter who was guarding him tonight from the Timberwolves. It didn’t help the TWolves that they got out-rebounded, out-assisted, and had costly turnovers. Jalen Green was a huge reason that the Rockets won the game but it wasn’t done without his big man Sengun.

 

This man Sengun has been having a great second season in the NBA and tonight he showed why he’s one of the best big men in the league. Sengun had 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists in this game and was able to go toe to toe with Rudy Gobert. Now he’s not on that level yet but he made sure that he gained some respect from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Rockets had 6 players in double figures and the Timberwolves weren’t able to get the job done on the defensive end. It came down to late-game execution and the Rockets were able to do that and more.

The Timberwolves were in a back-and-forth battle in this game against the Rockets. D’Angelo Russell was able to keep the TWolves in this game especially when they got down by 12 points. It seems like every time the chips are stacked against Russell he shows up. Russell finished with 30 points and 7 assists tonight as he was the guy that held it down while the rest of the players got into this game. DLo was making Jalen Green and Eric Gordon look silly off the dribble. Russell had it going on and then that got contagious as Anthony Edwards was able to finish the game with 31 points.

 

Anthony Edwards was able to get to the basket and he was able to knock down 6/10 three-pointers tonight. Rudy Gobert made his return to the lineup and made his presence felt as he came back with a big double-double. Gobert had 15 points and 16 rebounds as he was able to handle the paint by himself. Overall the Timberwolves made a couple of mistakes in that 4th quarter that messed them up in this game.

 

The Timberwolves will be looking to bounce back as they play the Pelicans on Wednesday.

 

 

Photo Credit: (Photo by Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images)

Jan 23, 2023 No Comments
SneakerReporter NFL Sunday Divisional Round: Scores and Predictions

SneakerReporter NFL Sunday Divisional Round: Scores and Predictions

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by | Jan 22, 2023 | Featured, NFL

Cincinnati Bengals Vs Buffalo Bills

 

The Cincinnati Bengals will be taking on the Buffalo Bills on Sunday for the divisional round and a shot at punching their way into the AFC Championship Game.

This game will be huge as this was the game at the end of the season that wasn’t played due to the tragic events surrounding the health of Damar Hamlin who’s recovered tremendously. There will be a lot of emotion on the field from both sides and this will be a huge matchup filled with explosive offenses. The Buffalo Bills who are led by Josh Allen will be looking to take the Bengals out of the game quickly. Josh Allen is probably the best dual-threat quarterback in the NFL and he can make you pay with his arm and his legs. Allen has been at the top of his game as of late but stumbled last week against the Dolphins. Allen will look to bounce back and he has his weapons Diggs/Davis ready to help him in this game as both will need to play a huge part in this one. The Bills don’t want to be obvious with play calling as they will need to sprinkle in some Devin Singletary in the game to keep the Bengals defense honest. The Bills defense will have their hands full trying to slow down Burrow, Chase, and Mixon but they are up to the challenge as they have one of the best defenses in the NFL coming into this one. The Bills defense took a blow from Miami and will try to bounce back this week.

The Bengals come into this game fresh off an impressive win against the Ravens where it legit came down to the last play. The Bengals will need to keep the ball in Joe Burrow’s hand with clock management. If the Bengals offense can set the tone in this game it could be a great day for the Bengals. If the Bengals are going to be successful it will have to do with the running game with Joe Mixon as the Cincy has the advantage in the backfield. Joe Mixon will need to use his legs and hands to keep this team going so it opens up the field for Chase/Higgins/Boyd to operate. Joe Burrow will need to take care of the ball and limit his turnovers as the Bills defense will try to bait him into making a mistake in this one. The Bengals defense has been impressive all season and Jessie Bates has a lot to do with that. Bates will need to keep their eyes glued to Allen’s every move as he will be the one trying to quarterback that Bengals defense.

Both teams were in dogfights last weekend and this one should be another dogfight as both teams want to make it to the Super Bowl or the season is a bust. The Bengals tasted the Super Bowl last year but this year they will try to win it and the Bills are trying to get to that point as well.

Score Prediction: Bengals Win (31-28)

 

 

 

Dallas Cowboys Vs San Francisco 49ers

 

This will be a rematch from last season’s playoffs as the Dallas Cowboys feel like they beat themselves by not clocking the ball in time. This year they will be looking to get revenge after eliminating Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last weekend. The 49ers on the other hand took care of business as they beat the Seattle Seahawks with ease.

 

The Dallas Cowboys will need to be able to play their style of football tonight. If Dak Prescott can limit his turnovers the Cowboys should be right in this game where they need to be. As of late Prescott has had interception issues but he will be able to redeem himself with a win against the 49ers. Dak has one of the best combo running backs with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. The Cowboys have won all season with Dak and the running game so they will need to keep that energy up. Look for the Cowboys to try to establish the run against this dominant 49ers defense. The Cowboys line will be the true judge of this game because if Nick Bosa gets to Dak it could be a long day. One of the good things is that Dak gets the ball out quickly so he has reliable hands in Ceedee Lamb, Gallup, and Hilton now. If the Cowboys can make it tough on that 49er secondary then this could be the game of the day. The Cowboys defense is led by Micah Parsons and he will be trying to get to Brock Purdy all day long. If the Cowboys defense can make the rookie make a mistake in this game it could go in the favor of the Cowboys. The Cowboys will be trying to slow down Deebo/McCaffrey and that’s not a small task at all.

The 49ers are playing with Brock Purdy who has been lights out in this season including playoffs. The good thing about Purdy is the fact that he’s got some true weapons around him to make his situation a lot easier. If Purdy can get the ball out to CMC/Deebo/Kittle it could be a long day for the Cowboys defense if he catches them in space. This will be a true test for this team and the 49ers have already been battle-tested this season, especially with injuries. The 49ers have the players to get it done on both ends of the field so it’s going to come down to who wants it more and who has the better trio. The defense for the 49ers will be trying to get to Dak as they want to make it tough on him. The 49ers run defense is at the top of the rankings so it could be tough to run on this team.

 

This will be one of the best games this weekend and we should be in for a true battle for a chance to head to the NFC Championship game.

 

Score Prediction: Cowboys Win (24-17)

Jan 22, 2023 No Comments
Anthony Edwards 44 Point Performance Propels Minnesota To Victory (113-104)

Anthony Edwards 44 Point Performance Propels Minnesota To Victory (113-104)

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by | Jan 22, 2023 | Featured, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA

The Minnesota Timberwolves are coming off a great win against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday. They would look to keep the winning going as they took on the Houston Rockets tonight. The Timberwolves were again without Rudy Gobert & Karl Anthony Towns. We did get an update on KAT as Coach Finch said “Karl has no timetable for a return right now”. Minnesota was going to have to depend on Anthony Edwards to come through for them and he answered the challenge.

The Timberwolves were locked in from the beginning of the game to the end. This was one of those trap games for the Timberwolves as they weren’t ready for the competitiveness from the Rockets. The Rockets were able to get a huge advantage in the paint as they were able to beat the Timberwolves on the boards. One of the people that really made it tough on Minnesota was Alperen Sengun. On the night Sengun made it tough on the Timberwolves bigs getting them in foul trouble with his aggressive playing style. Sengun finished the game with 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 7 assists as he was the bright spot for the Rockets tonight. Now Sengun had an amazing night with his play and stats but he was the victim of two poster dunks from Anthony Edwards. The first dunk on Sengun was the turning point of this game and that was the start of the Rockets loss.

 

 

 

Anthony Edwards poster dunk started an 11-0 run for the Timberwolves and it gave them a jolt. This was exactly what the Timberwolves needed and it was what the fans have been waiting to see from Edwards. Anthony Edwards has become a great two-way player and he’s been able to have his defense create his offense. On a nightly basis, you can see that Edwards is taking the challenge of guarding the other team’s best player down the stretch. Tonight Anthony took the challenge of guarding Jalen Green as he was able to make it tough on him all night for only 10 points. Anthony took over the game in the 2nd half as it seemed as though anything he put up was going in at one point. Anthony Edwards finished with 44 points tonight and he was able to get to his spots with ease. When Edwards has the step back 3 pointer going and his euro step game it will be a long night for any team.

 

Nathan Knight was the player that stepped up and was able to slow down Sengun a little bit in the paint. Nathan had his season-high 19 points. Knight was able to pull Sengun away from the paint and he even hit a couple of 3-pointers as well. Nathan was playing bully ball and he was able to make the best of his looks with the pick and roll. D’Angelo Russell has always been able to create his own shot and he did just that tonight with his 23 points. Russell has been one of the most consistent players on this team and he was able to take advantage of Eric Gordon playing defense against him.

 

The Rockets and Timberwolves will be playing again on Monday in Houston as the Rockets try to get revenge for tonight’s loss.

Jan 22, 2023 No Comments
Russell’s 16 Point 4th Quarter Helps Minnesota Beat Toronto (128-126)

Russell’s 16 Point 4th Quarter Helps Minnesota Beat Toronto (128-126)

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by | Jan 19, 2023 | Featured, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA

The Timberwolves are coming into this game against the Toronto Raptors fresh off a back-to-back in Denver. Minnesota didn’t get the win on the road but was looking to get back into the winning column tonight. The Timberwolves were without Rudy Gobert again as he sat with (Groin Soreness).

 

The Raptors came out hot in this game as the Timberwolves didn’t know what hit them. Scottie Barnes and Fred VanVleet were having their way early in this one. Barnes was able to get Naz Reid in a little foul trouble which opened things up for the Raptors to attack the paint with ease. Barnes and Siakam have the length with ball handling skills that just makes them tough guards. The Raptors had it all going their way as they shot 50% from the field and 3-point land in the game. Also, the Raptors had all five of their starters in double figures led by Scottie Barnes. Tonight was one of those games where Barnes was able to flourish and show exactly why he’s one of the best upcoming talents in the NBA as he finished with 29 points. The Raptors had it all going but then the Timberwolves came storming back after being down by 18 points at home.

 

The Timberwolves player that set the tone in the second half of the game was D’Angelo Russell. It seemed as though every two seconds in the arena I heard Jay-Z’s “D’Angeloooooo” because Russell was just making shot after shot. Russell took over that 4th quarter with 16 points showing that he can get it done when the lights shine the brightest. DLo is one of the only players on this team that can create his own space/shot while still trying to make the right basketball play for his teammates. Tonight it was all about D’Angelo Russell making the best of his moment. Russell went 4/4 from the 3-point line and he couldn’t miss in the 4th quarter at all. When Russell gets it going like that anything is possible. Russell was able to start that comeback off on his own but he was able to bring Anthony Edwards along with him. Edwards was able to make some tough baskets down the stretch of the game as he was able to finish with 23 points on the night. It’s cool seeing Edwards put up the points but it was the job he did on the defensive end on Siakam that saved this game. There were multiple possessions where Anthony was picking up the best player and tonight showed that true growth we have all been waiting to see as he emerges into that two-way player.  The Timberwolves only had 5 players in double figures but when it was all set and done D’Angelo Russell held it down for the team tonight offensively.

 

The Timberwolves will be hosting the Houston Rockets on Saturday as they look to build upon this new winning streak now.

Jan 19, 2023 No Comments
Joker’s Monster Triple Double Lifts Nuggets Over Timberwolves (122-118)

Joker’s Monster Triple Double Lifts Nuggets Over Timberwolves (122-118)

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by | Jan 19, 2023 | Featured, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA

The Minnesota Timberwolves are coming off a loss to the Utah Jazz and wanted to go to Denver to show they’re just as good. We learned much about this Timberwolves team as of late because they’re scrappy. When you count this team out pregame and during the game they prove you wrong. The Timberwolves had their hands complete with the reigning MVP Nikola Jokić. Less than 24 hours ago Nikola Jokić had a triple-double and could go back-to-back with monster stat lines. Tonight Joker finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists as he shows that he’s HIM. No Rudy Gobert in the lineup made it tough to defend him but the Timberwolves were able to do what they could do.

 

The Denver Nuggets had a game plan and it looked as if they wanted to get rid of everyone but Anthony Edwards. The Timberwolves were able to get the lead and hang on it during the 4th until Jamal Murray started getting it going. Jamal Murray finished the game with 28 points but made some tough shots down the stretch to help the Nuggets get the win. Murray and Jokić put the Nuggets on their backs tonight as the Timberwolves just didn’t know what hit them. When Joker and Murray play at this elite level the Nuggets are tough to beat especially when they are hitting all those unreal shots.

 

Jaden McDaniels was able to finish with 18 points tonight but they will have to get ready to play the Toronto Raptors at home to bounce back. If the Timberwolves didn’t rush the offense this would have been a win in my humble opinion because they’re playing to their competition and acting like nothing. Look for the bounce back as there isn’t anything wrong with some home cooking in Minnesota. Look for Anthony Edwards or D’Angelo Rissell to set the tone early.

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit: (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

Jan 19, 2023 No Comments