Minnesota Timberwolves at Memphis Grizzlies: Odds, injuries, what to watch for

The Minnesota Timberwolves open their first multi-game road trip of the season by paying a visit to Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies.

Minnesota Timberwolves at Memphis Grizzlies: Odds, injuries, what to watch for

It was less than two weeks ago that the Wolves were 3-1 and had just defeated the defending-champion Milwaukee Bucks on the road.

Now, 12 days later, Wolves have not won since, despite playing their next four games at home. They’re now 3-5 after a close loss to the Denver Nuggets, a hideous stumble against the Orlando Magic, and a pair of uninspiring losses to the LA Clippers.

D’Angelo Russell sprained his ankle in the Orlando game a week ago and missed both Clippers matchups but appears set to come back to face the Grizzlies.

Memphis is coming off an 18-point road loss to the Washington Wizards on Friday night. Both the Wolves and Grizzlies had Saturday and Sunday off and come into Monday’s game well-rested.

The Grizzlies beat the Nuggets twice last week and have also beaten the Clippers and the 7-4 Cleveland Cavaliers this season. To date, they remain the only team to have beaten the Golden State Warriors.

Minnesota Timberwolves odds at Memphis Grizzlies

The Wolves are 6-point underdogs on the road against the Grizzlies according to WynnBet. Despite the four-game losing streak, this spread seems to be a bit large and it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see Minnesota cover, even if they don’t ultimately win the game.

TV and streaming info for Minnesota Timberwolves at Memphis Grizzlies

• Tip-off: 7:00 CT
• Television: Bally Sports North
• Radio: 830 WCCO
• Stream: Fubo.tv offers streaming options

What to watch for in Minnesota Timberwolves at Memphis Grizzlies

Despite a 5-4 record and numerous impressive wins on their ledger, the Grizzlies’ offense is only No. 16 in offensive rating.

They’ve been a good long-range shooting team, currently ranking No. 8 in 3-point attempts per game and No. 12 in percentage at 34.8 percent. They don’t get to the free throw line often (16.3 attempts per game, No. 28 in the NBA) which has hurt their overall offensive efficiency.

The biggest concern for the Wolves in this one will be rebounding and second-chance points. The Grizzlies are currently No. 5 in the league in offensive rebounding percentage, while the Wolves are No. 30 in defensive rebounding percentage.

Minnesota has grabbed a shockingly low 71 percent of potential defensive rebounds, which means that more than one out of every four times that their opponent misses a shot, the Wolves are giving up a second-chance opportunity.

On the other side of the ball, however, the Grizzlies are giving up the second-highest 3-point shooting percentage in the league at a whopping 38.7 percent. There’s clearly some noise there; this early in the season it’s hard to call that a definitive trend. But most likely, they’re allowing more open shots from deep than the average team.

The Wolves have struggled to shoot accurately from beyond the arc so far this season; their 32.1 percent mark is No. 25 in the league and they’ve missed their fair share of open attempts. It goes without saying that the Wolves must hit their open opportunities in this one if they are to upset the Grizzlies on the road.

Injury report for Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Memphis Grizzlies

The Wolves have listed D’Angelo Russell as questionable with the ankle sprain that caused him to miss the past two games. However, Anthony Edwards said after the game on Friday that he’d expect Russell to play Monday, and Russell was a full participant in Sunday’s practice.

The Grizzlies are only without Dillon Brooks, who went down with a broken hand in preseason.

We’ll be back after the game with key takeaways. Here’s to 4-5!