The Timberwolves pay a visit to Salt Lake City to take on the Jazz, the team with the third-best record in the Western Conference. Utah enters Friday with five straight victories. This includes a Christmas Day victory over the Dallas Mavericks and back-to-back wins on the road against the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers in their two most recent outings. Meanwhile, Minnesota dropped their most recent contest, a 96-88 loss to the New York Knicks. They have lost three of their last four, including a 12-point defeat to this same Jazz team just eight nights ago in Utah.
Here is how FanDuel has set the Timberwolves-Jazz odds for this Friday night New Year's Eve NBA matchup.
NBA odds: Timberwolves-Jazz Odds
Timberwolves: +11 (-106)
Jazz: -11 (-114)
Over: 222 (-110)
Under: 222 (-110)
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Why the Timberwolves Could Cover the Spread
The Timberwolves are entering this contest at a major disadvantage as Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell will continue to sit out due to health and safety protocols. Sophomore stud Anthony Edwards has also been on the sidelines the past six outings, but has been cleared from protocols. The Timberwolves listed him as questionable heading into Friday due to reconditioning after dealing with COVID-19. They also tagged Taurean Prince with the same status as Edwards.
Much like many other teams, Minnesota has definitely felt the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak across the league. It's certainly a bummer for them that their top three stars in KAT, D-Lo, and Ant have all been out the last couple of games due to health and safety protocols. Nonetheless, it is looking more likely that Edwards makes his return to the lineup on Friday against the Jazz. He reportedly turned in a solid practice this week and is ramping up his conditioning to return to play. The Timberwolves definitely get a major boost with having their 2020 no. 1 overall pick back in the fold.
Minnesota is 6-8 on the road this season. Without Towns and Edwards, as well as veteran guard Patrick Beverley, they lost to Utah, 128-116 last week.
Why the Jazz Could Cover the Spread
Utah is a heavy favorite heading into this matchup. Not only are they entering with a five-game winning streak and the third-best record in the conference, they are pretty much unscathed from any of the COVID issues the rest of the league is dealing with. Nobody on the roster is on the health and safety protocols as of the latest Jazz injury report. In fact, they can even afford to give All-Star guard Mike Conley the night off with this being the first night of a back-to-back set. Utah also listed Joe Ingles as questionable due to a lower back strain. They may just give him the night off to recover from his injury since they are facing a Timberwolves team devoid of at least two star players.
Much of the spotlight has been on the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference. However, the Jazz have definitely come under-the-radar and are sneakily just right behind them with a 25-9 record. They could very well inch closer to Golden State and Phoenix's identical 27-7 mark with a win on Friday.
Final Timberwolves-Jazz Prediction & Pick
The Timberwolves should be able to cover and win here versus the Jazz. Even if both teams are at full strength, Utah still has the advantage over Minnesota. With the Jazz pretty much entirely healthy and the Timberwolves ravaged with COVID-19, particularly to their star players, this should be a rather comfortable victory for the Jazz.
Final Timberwolves-Jazz Prediction & Pick: Jazz -11 (-114)
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