Los Angeles Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, Preview, and Odds
16 teams hit the hardwood on Thursday night, and one of the later games is a Western Conference showdown between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Both teams are entering on the second night of a back-to-back, so the latest records saw the Lakers at 12-15 while the T-Wolves were 20-5. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 ET from the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN.
*This article was written before the completion of Wednesday night's games.
Lakers Struggling After In-Season Title
Los Angeles cruised to the inaugural in-season tournament championship a couple weeks back, but they haven’t been able to get things going since. The Lakers are just 1-3 in their last four games, dropping contests to Dallas (127-125), San Antonio (129-115), and New York (114-109), most recently. The lone victory over the stretch was a 122-119 nail-biter against the lowly Spurs. The oddsmakers still give Los Angeles a decent chance to win the (actual) title, listing them at +1700. Those are the seventh-shortest odds in the Association. As for the game-level gambling numbers, Darvin Ham’s club comes into this game at 12-16 ATS and they’ve seen 16 of their 28 games go under the total.
Individually, it has been none other than LeBron James paving the way for the Lakers this season. The veteran has posted team high marks in scoring (25.2 PPG), assists (7.2 APG), and steals (1.5 SPG). Anthony Davis has dominated down low, adding 24.2 points per contest while securing a team-leading 12.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per night.
Timberwolves Hold Top Spot in West
The vibes are incredibly high in Minneapolis this season as the T-Wolves are out to a 20-5 start, which is good enough for first place in the Western Conference. Chris Finch’s squad has rattled off nine wins in their last 10 games, which includes a current three-game win streak. The three recent victories have come against Dallas (119-101), Indiana (127-109), and Miami (112-108), most recently. Interestingly, from a sports betting perspective, Minnesota still sits at just +2200 to win the NBA title. That’s right behind Los Angeles, which are the eighth-shortest odds available. The Timberwolves enter this conference clash at 14-10-1 ATS and they’ve seen 13 of their 25 games go over the total.
Anthony Edwards is developing into a star guard right before our eyes. There were very early MVP rumblings for the shooting guard but he’s currently +5500 to take home the award. That puts 11 other players ahead of him. Edwards has paved the way in both scoring (24.6 PPG) and steals (1.4 SPG) while Rudy Gobert has handled things down low, adding 12.6 points per game. Gobert’s also the team leader in both rebounding (12.2 RPG) and blocks 2.4 BPG).
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This is a really intriguing matchup from a sports betting standpoint as both teams enter on the second night of a back-to-back. Both squads played on the road on Wednesday, with Los Angeles taking on Chicago and Minnesota squaring off against Philadelphia. For reference, Minnesota has only played one back-to-back this year, and they’re 0-1 (0-1 ATS). Meanwhile, Los Angeles is 2-3 SU and they’ve failed to cover in all five of those games!
With that being said, I’m going to ride with the Timberwolves to cover in this contest. They’ve simply been the better team recently, winning nine of their last 10 games. Also, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis each being on the older side, I think that’ll have a huge impact in this back-to-back scenario – especially against Minnesota’s top-ranked defense. Let’s lock in Minnesota to cover the spread.
Prediction: Minnesota Timberwolves To Cover
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On top of playing a second game in as many nights, both James (calf) and Davis (ankle) have shown up on the injury report recently. They were both questionable heading into Wednesday’s game against Chicago. Now, if they even play, they’ll be tasked with taking on a Timberwolves’ defense that’s literally the best in the league. They’re first in defensive efficiency, allowing just 103.6 points per 100 possessions.
Meanwhile, The Lakers aren’t far off their pace, ranking eighth in defensive efficiency (109.3 points allowed per 100 possessions). I won’t be surprised at all if one (or both) of these teams come in under 100 points considering the circumstances. We could be in for a vintage, defensive showdown on Thursday night – give me the under!
