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Albeit the Wolves’ front-office did not have sky-high hopes for this year’s NBA campaign, the performance of Al Jefferson and company has still been fairly disappointing. Hoping to finally get their act together, the Timberwolves will make their way to Houston to face Trevor Ariza and the Rockets at Toyota Center on Thursday at 1:30 a.m. GMT.

Given the fact that Rick Adelman’s squad has to get through the entire season without All-Star center Yao Ming, the Rockets certainly have a tough mission ahead of them in their quest for a playoff spot. So far, Houston did reasonably well and are right in the playoff mix halfway through the season, posting a solid 20-16 record. Although Tracy McGrady appears to have fully recovered from his torn ACL, the franchise is evidently more interested in T-Mac’s value as trade chip than in his services on the court. However, the Houston Rockets benefited from their roster overhaul as Carl Landry, Aaron Brooks and Trevor Ariza stepped up and became essential parts of Houston’s rotation.

In contrast, the Timberwolves got off to a rough start and stumbled to a disappointing 7-29 record and the last place of the Western Conference. Especially their defensive efforts leave plenty of room for improvement as they are among the worst teams in the league at 106 points per game. Likewise, Minnesota Timberwolves did not play overly well on the other end of the floor either and had trouble scoring on a consistent basis. The only bright spot thus far has been the performance of rookie guard Jonny Flynn who averages 14.2 points, 4.0 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 29 minutes per contest. Yet, Flynn and Jefferson alone will most likely not be enough to beat the Rockets on Thursday night. Ultimately, Houston has clearly more talent on board and a much deeper bench than the struggling Timberwolves.

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