The Memphis Grizzlies and the Minnesota Timberwolves will clash later tonight at Target Center in Minneapolis for a potential series closer. Ja Morant and co. are leading 3-2 after winning Game 5.
Apart from Game 2 which was won by Memphis by 28 points, the whole series are very close. The last two games ended with a margin of 1 and 2 points respectively.
Memphis will be without Steven Adams (health and safety protocols), Santi Aldama (right knee soreness) and Killian Tillie (lower back procedure recovery), while Ziaire Williams is listed as doubtful due to right knee soreness. Meanwhile for the Timberwolves will have all of their players at their disposal.
The main weapons of the visitors will be able to play. Desmond Bane (23.6 points per game), Morant (22.4 points per game) and Brandon Clarke (16.4 points per game) are the top scorers for them in this series. With all of them being available, Memphis should be able to produce on the offensive end.
For Minnesota their top two scorers in these series are Anthony Edwards with 24.2 points per game and Karl-Anthony Towns with 22.6 points per game. They will have to put a really good performance in order for the hosts to win Game 6.
The Grizzlies, being the number two seed in the Western Conference, are considered the favorites to progress to the second round. However, Minnesota presents a very real challenge for them, despite having to go through the Play-In tournament in order to qualify for the playoffs.
At the time of this reporting, the odds are favoring Memphis by 1.5 points per SportsBettingDime.com. Should the Timberwolves win and force Game 7, it will be played in Memphis.
So far in these playoffs none of the series extended to more than six games.
