Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction & Match Preview - March 14th, 2021 | NBA Season 2020-21
The Portland Trail Blazers will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center on Sunday for the second game of their two-match mini-series in the 2020-21 NBA. The Blazers will look to make a clean sweep of the mini-series after winning the first game 125-121.
Damian Lillard and veteran Carmelo Anthony starred for the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night, with the duo combining for 51 points to lead their side to a win. Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns (34 points, ten rebounds) and rookie Anthony Edwards (21 points, eight rebounds) were the best performers for the underwhelming Minnesota Timberwolves.
Match Details
Fixture: Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves - NBA Season 2020-21.
Date & Time: Saturday, March 14th, 2021; 7:30 PM ET (Sunday; 8:30 AM IST).
Venue: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN.
Portland Trail Blazers Preview
The Portland Trail Blazers are fifth in the Western Conference standings. They are 22-15 on the season and have a good chance of finishing in the top six and avoid the play-in tournament to get into the playoffs.
The Portland Trail Blazers will hope they can take care of business as usual despite McCollum, Nurkic, Giles and Collins still ruled out.
However, the likes of Gary Trent Jr. and Derrick Jones Jr., will need to play much better than they did last night if the Portland Trai Blazers want their star players Damian Lillard and Carmelo Anthony fresh for this game.
Key Player - Carmelo Anthony
With CJ McCollum not playing this game, Damian Lillard will have to bear the bulk of scoring responsibilities for the injury-plagued Portland Trail Blazers.
Veteran Carmelo Anthony has had to step up to take some pressure off Lillard, something he'll like to do in this game too. Anthony produced 26 points, six assists, two steals and a block while shooting 57.1% from the field, including a 40% clip from downtown on the night.
Predicted Lineup
G - Damian Lillard, G - Gary Trent Jr., F - Robert Covington, F - Derrick Jones Jr., C - Enes Kanter.
Minnesota Timberwolves Preview
The Minnesota Timberwolves have managed just one win in seven games under new coach Chris Finch.
Pretty much nothing has gone their way so far, as they have had to deal with poor performances and injuries to key players at the start of the season. Unsurprisingly, they have the worst record (8-30) in the league this campaign.
After tasting a rare blowout win over the New Orleans Pelicans, the Minnesota Timberwolves will look to continue that momentum in this game. In their last game, which they lost by only four points, the Minnesota Timberwolves had 18 turnovers but dominated the Blazers inside the paint, outrebounding them 56-34 while also outscoring them 60-40.
Key Player - Karl-Anthony Towns
Karl-Anthony Towns ran the show for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first match of this back-to-back series, with a season and game-high 34 point outing. But that wasn't enough to get his team over the line. Nevertheless, the onus will once again be on him to deliver the goods, as he has been the best player for the Minnesota Timberwolves this campaign.
If the rest of the Minnesota Timberwolves players can step up and provide support to KAT, they could stand a chance of upsetting the Portland Trail Blazers.
Predicted Lineup
G Ricky Rubio, G Anthony Edwards, F Jake Layman, F Jarred Vanderbilt, C Karl-Anthony Towns.
Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Match Prediction
The Portland Trail Blazers start as the overwhelming favorites against the Minnesota Timberwolves simply because of how disappointing the home side has been this season.
The Portland Trail Blazers are one of the top sides in the league, and despite having an injury-plagued season, they are fifth in the West. However, the Timberwolves were pretty close to winning the previous game and will try to push the Blazers to the limit this time as well.
Where to watch the Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves game?
The game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves will be televised locally on Fox Sports North and NBC North West. The match can also be live-streamed with an NBA League Pass.