Minnesota Timberwolves: Player matchups vs. the Rockets

1. Karl-Anthony Towns vs. Clint Capela

This is Minnesota’s X-factor matchup, and there’s no question about it.

Paul and Harden are going to do their thing, but Capela always seems to kill Minnesota. If Minnesota can stop Capela, they’ll be in a lot better shape.

Capela is the Rockets’ best rebounder and his presence inside is too good to overlook. Of all the NBA teams, he kills the Wolves as much as anyone.

When playing Minnesota, Capela averages 18.8 points, 10  rebounds,1.3 assists, 1.5 blocks and 0.5 steals, all while shooting a scorching hot 78.9 percent from the field. Granted all of his shots basically come from above the rim, but still 78.9 percent is beyond effective.

Teams obviously go as far as their best players, and while Towns has improved defensively this season, playing Capela has not been a favorable matchup for him. (Towns would fare better as a power forward in my book, but nonetheless, the Wolves need Towns to come up big against Capela.)

Towns is gifted offensively and should have no issue on that side; it’s really whether or not he can stop Capela. Houston loves to get Capela involved through pick-and-rolls, so Minnesota will have to keep a keen eye on that.

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The Timberwolves’ odds are stacked up against them, to be sure. But If Minnesota can play good defense and slow their matchups down, then they just might make things interesting.