Minnesota Timber Wolves at Chicago Bulls
Under 188.5
The Fundamental
This matchup pairs the number 1 road defense against the number 2 home defense. While Minnesota has the top ranked defense, it also has the league's worst road offense. Both teams come in on impressive win streaks. Both teams won last night in hard-fought contests. Both teams play defense.
Chicago is feeling great having won 7 in a row after a brutal trip out west that saw them lose 6 in a row. They can have some difficulty scoring when their opponent is capable of defending the perimeter. Nocioni has developed into a poor man's Nowitzki and is vital to their success on the offensive side of the ball. On the defensive side, they have this decade's best defender in Ben Wallace plus a lot of high-energy young players that like to defend.
Minnesota uses tempo in addition to solid team defense to keep scores low. They put a lot of minutes on their starters last night and that should prevent a repeat of the unusual success they had from the field (51%) against the Jazz. The oft-maligned Ricky Davis is actually one of the league's best and most versatile defenders. Look for him to face up against either Deng or Nocioni depending on who has the hot hand. There are also significant rumors that Minnesota is the most likely destination for Mr. Iverson. The Wolves have to feel like this is their best week thus far in the young season so look for a spirited effort although it will likely fall short.
The Technical
Setup = LLL
Raw Total = 182
Total Offense = 190
Total Defense = 178
B2B Index = -3
Injury Index = +1
Trend Index = +1
Projection = 181
Under 188.5
The Fundamental
This matchup pairs the number 1 road defense against the number 2 home defense. While Minnesota has the top ranked defense, it also has the league's worst road offense. Both teams come in on impressive win streaks. Both teams won last night in hard-fought contests. Both teams play defense.
Chicago is feeling great having won 7 in a row after a brutal trip out west that saw them lose 6 in a row. They can have some difficulty scoring when their opponent is capable of defending the perimeter. Nocioni has developed into a poor man's Nowitzki and is vital to their success on the offensive side of the ball. On the defensive side, they have this decade's best defender in Ben Wallace plus a lot of high-energy young players that like to defend.
Minnesota uses tempo in addition to solid team defense to keep scores low. They put a lot of minutes on their starters last night and that should prevent a repeat of the unusual success they had from the field (51%) against the Jazz. The oft-maligned Ricky Davis is actually one of the league's best and most versatile defenders. Look for him to face up against either Deng or Nocioni depending on who has the hot hand. There are also significant rumors that Minnesota is the most likely destination for Mr. Iverson. The Wolves have to feel like this is their best week thus far in the young season so look for a spirited effort although it will likely fall short.
The Technical
Setup = LLL
Raw Total = 182
Total Offense = 190
Total Defense = 178
B2B Index = -3
Injury Index = +1
Trend Index = +1
Projection = 181
