Minnesota is still trying to remember the time, not that long ago, when they were the darlings of the Western Conference. \u00a0With point guard Ricky Rubio deftly dishing the ball they were firmly in the playoff picture. \u00a0 <\/p>\n
Minnesota Timberwolves (25-28) vs Sacramento Kings (18-34) Matchup<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Preview<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Minnesota<\/strong><\/p>\n But with him on the shelf, and joined by Michael Beasley, Jose Barea and surprising center Nikola Pekovic, the team has struggled to maintain consistency. \u00a0Kevin Love is doing a lot but he can only do so much on his own.<\/p>\n Even with some extra playing time top pick forward Derrick Williams is struggling with consistency. \u00a0He was a great college player but I am having a hard time seeing him becoming a great pro. \u00a0The same goes for wing Wesley Johnson who is also struggling to find his way in the League. \u00a0It really is too bad about Pekovic. \u00a0In his second season he was proving to be a reliable scorer and big body who was hard to move from the paint. \u00a0A tough guy to matchup with because of his size. [soliloquy id=”82219″]<\/p>\n Sacramento<\/strong><\/p>\n Sacramento should be ready to pounce Monday night after getting throttled Saturday by New Jersey in their own gym. \u00a0Minnesota will have played the day before and if they can get their running game going they might just do to the T-Wolves what the Nets did to them. \u00a0Against New Jersey they lost because they shot an awful 3 for 17 from long range. \u00a0While not a great shooting team they are usually almost twice as good as that lowly 17%.<\/p>\n The especially brutal part is that they had a 9 point lead at one point and still wound up losing by a dozen. \u00a0This team is just so brutal on defense that even though they scored more in the paint and on the break and had fewer turnovers it just wasn\u2019t enough. \u00a0Minnesota is a sliding team so if they can get on them early they might fold, especially with travel and scheduling playing to the Kings advantage.<\/p>\n
\nMonday April 2
\nPower Balance Pavillion – Sacramento, CA
\n10:05PM
\nMoneyline: \u00a0No money line currently listed
\nSpread: \u00a0Sacramento -2.5
\nO\/U: \u00a0214.5<\/strong><\/p>\n