Timberwolves vs. Lakers Prediction: NBA Odds, Point Spread
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Jeremy Perry
The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers are two teams at opposite ends of the standings. The Timberwolves are 9-30 but have won two out of their last three. Meanwhile, the Lakers are 26-13 and have won four out of their last six despite being without their superstar center Anthony Davis. What do the Wolves need to do here to get the upset – or at least cover the spread?
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Minnesota is just 3-7 ATS in their last 10 matchups when going up against a team with a winning straight up record. That number could go up after this game, though, as the Lakers are suffering from a lot of losses throughout their roster from COVID-19 protocols to injuries.
On the other hand, the Lakers are 5-1 ATS in their past six games overall. They’re without Anthony Davis and keep an eye on the status of LeBron James. The Lakers are in a back-to-back set, so maybe this is a spot where they rest their star.
Minnesota Timberwolves
This Minnesota team will still be without one of their best guards in Malik Beasley after he was suspended for 12 games a little while back. The team has mostly struggled without him as he was averaging 20.5 points per game. They do still have other options though with Karl-Anthony Towns playing consistently well after missing around 20 games. He’s putting up 21.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per contest.
Minnesota also has the No. 1 overall draft pick playing at a high level as Anthony Edwards appears to be finally shining. He’s averaging 25.3 points per game this month with 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals. He had a career-high 34 in the team’s latest win. He’s been a big catalyst in the T-Wolves recent success and will have to deliver again on Tuesday.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers have been struggling without Davis on the floor and it was announced on Monday that he could still be weeks away. Without him, they don’t have the same level of rim protection on defense and paint presence that they once had. It has placed a ton of pressure on LeBron James to carry the load. He has done pretty nicely, though, averaging 25.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game while leading the team in all of those categories. The team has also benefited from the play of Dennis Schroder, who was added over the offseason and has provided excellent guard play both off the bench and in the starting lineup.
Veteran big man Marc Gasol has also been ruled out for the next two games because of COVID-19 protocols and one of his backups Jared Dudley recently tore his MCL. The Lakers may struggle to find depth these next few games and it could leave them vulnerable to an upset against the Wolves – especially against Towns.
MIN
LAL