Minnesota Timberwolves vs Dallas Mavericks Prediction 10-5-23 NBA Picks

The Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves meet Thursday in NBA preseason action at the Etihad Arena. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.

Dallas Mavericks Betting Preview

The Dallas Mavericks enter this season with pressure, as they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018-19. Jason Kidd enters his third year as head coach. The Mavs are going to go as far as Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving take them, but they made some moves this offseason to add to the depth. Grant Williams adds defense and toughness, Seth Curry brings more shooting and Derrick Jones Jr. brings athleticism. Take those 3 additions and the health of Tim Hardaway Jr., and the Mavericks are looking better than they did a season ago. The Mavs have the talent to make a serious run in the West this season, but the defense has to come together and Kyrie has to stay engaged. The pieces are there for Dallas to put a scare into the rest of the league.

Minnesota Timberwolves Betting Preview

The Minnesota Timberwolves are coming off back-to-back playoff trips, but now they look for their first playoff series win since 2003-04. Chris Finch enters his third season as head coach. The Timberwolves didn’t do a lot to get better this season, and you could argue they got worst with Jaylen Nowell, Taurean Prince and Austin Rivers leaving. Anthony Edwards is one of the young stars in the league and Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the better bigs, but it’s going to take more than that to shake something. Jaden McDaniels is one of the league's best defenders, and Naz Reid was enjoying his best season before he got hurt. Can the Rudy Gobert thing work out in the second season? The Timberwolves are a playoff team, but it feels like they’re a player away from really being feared in the West. 

Trends

The Mavericks are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 Thursday games and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall. The over is 4-1 in Mavericks last 5 overall. The over is 3-0-1 in Timberwolves last 4 overall. The Mavericks are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Minnesota.

Randy’s Free Pick

The Minnesota Timberwolves probably have more youth and guys fighting for minutes than the Mavs, and those are teams I like to back in preseason action. Open competition usually creates better play in these sorts of games. Also, Luka has been dealing with a thigh issue and Grant Williams did have hand surgery, so they're likely going to be without two key players. I'll take my chances with the Timberwolves and the free bucket.