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The Minnesota Timberwolves will face the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Timberwolves-Blazers prediction and pick.
The Timberwolves finally look like a playoff team for the first time in what seems like forever. This game is an opportunity for them to move above .500 on the year and continue climbing from their seventh seed in the Western Conference.
The Blazers are currently on the opposite side. There's a legitimate chance they miss the postseason for the first time in years, as their 20-26 record currently has them as the 10th seed in the West, though there have been some signs of life of late without Damian Lillard.
This should be an entertaining matchup between two teams that are fairly similar, so let's get right into the pick.
Here are the Timberwolves-Blazers NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Timberwolves-Blazers Odds
Minnesota Timberwolves: -3 (-110)
Portland Trail Blazers: +3 (-110)
Over: 233.5 (-108)
Under: 233.5 (-112)
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Why The Timberwolves Could Cover The Spread
This Minnesota team is perfectly built to play the Blazers. The Wolves employ a run-and-gun style, scoring plenty of fast-break points while also leading the league in 3-point attempts per game. Those are two huge areas of weakness for Portland. The Blazers allow nearly 13 fast-break points per game and 14 triples per contest to their opponents. Both of those numbers rank inside the bottom 10 in the league. This is the perfect matchup for an underrated Minnesota offense.
Injuries are taking a toll on just about everyone in the league, and the Blazers are no exception. Superstar point guard Damian Lillard is obviously out with a long-term injury, and now backup guard Dennis Smith Jr. appears likely to miss this contest. Starting power forward Larry Nance Jr. and starting center Cody Zeller will both miss this contest because of various injuries. This shallow Portland team will need to rely on the bench to play huge minutes in this game.
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Why The Blazers Could Cover The Spread
Despite dealing with several key injuries, the Blazers have been impressive recently. Portland is 6-2 in its last eight games, including wins over the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards. Both losses were to playoff-caliber teams, so it's clear that this Blazers team has been playing quality basketball lately. Even with injuries, this isn't a team to look past, especially as Anfernee Simons continues his breakout.
The Timberwolves win games when their offense plays well enough to compensate for their terrible defense. Minnesota allows 110 points per game while giving up a 54% 2-point percentage to their opponents. The Wolves have also been abysmal at stopping their opponents from scoring in the paint or on fast breaks. This is a defense that struggles to do anything well, and that should show against this solid Blazers offense.
Final Timberwolves-Blazers Prediction & Pick
This is a surprising line. The Wolves should be favored by far more against a banged-up, mediocre Portland team. The Minnesota offense should dominate this matchup while the defense does just enough to earn a cover.
Final Timberwolves-Blazers Prediction & Pick: Minnesota Timberwolves: -3 (-110)
