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Andrew Rogers
Bucks vs. Timberwolves Prediction: NBA Odds, Point Spread
One of the marquee matchups of Monday’s NBA schedule will be missing one of its biggest attractions. Karl-Anthony Towns serves the second game of his two-game suspension, leaving the Minnesota Timberwolves significantly shorthanded for their encounter with the visiting Milwaukee Bucks. And while the Wolves didn’t miss Towns in their 131-109 win at Washington on Saturday, it could bite them against one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
As expected, the Bucks are comfortable road favourites in Towns’ absence – and they’ve returned plenty of profit in this situation in recent years, going 19-10-1 ATS in their last 30 games when favoured away from Milwaukee. But the Timberwolves are no slouches when getting points at home, having gone 10-6 ATS in their last 16 games in that scenario. That said, the favourite has covered in six of the last seven meetings between the teams.
Monday features plenty of sky-high totals – and this game is no different, with the number sitting at 230. And there are conflicting totals trends at work here; the Under is 5-2-1 in Milwaukee’s previous eight games overall, and a sizzling 7-1 in the last eight games between these teams at Target Center. But the Timberwolves have gone 20-7 O/U in their last 27 games against Eastern Conference opponents, including a 3-2 mark so far this season.
Milwaukee Bucks
Every team has something to work on early in the season, no matter how good their W-L record is. And for the Bucks, free-throw shooting is their biggest early-season bugaboo. Milwaukee enters the new calendar week ranked second from the bottom in free-throw percentage at 68.8 percent, ahead of only the New York Knicks. And while it wasn’t exactly an area of strength last season (77.3 percent, 14th), you can still expect some positive regression here.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves have won just two of the previous 10 meetings between the teams – and reversing that trend becomes even more difficult with Towns on the sidelines. But if they can continue to show off a hot stroke from deep, they could make this one interesting. The Wolves shot a blistering 12-of-17 from 3-point range in their one-sided win over Washington, though they’re still just 22nd in the NBA in 3-point success rate for the season (32.5 percent).