Timberwolves vs. Lakers Prediction: NBA Odds, Point Spread
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Charlie Grant
The Los Angeles Lakers return home after a spotless three-game road trip, and hope to continue the winning run when they welcome Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Staples Center on Saturday night.
The T-Wolves aim to put a strange loss in their rearview mirror and add to their recent success against the Lakers.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Timberwolves lost for the seventh time in their last 10 games to drop to 10-11 straight up and 9-11-1 against the spread. They’re one of the better Over teams in the Association with a 13-8 O/U record.
The Wolves are 8-2 straight up and against the spread in their last 10 games versus the Lakers – including 2-0 SU & ATS last season. Of course, LeBron James missed both of those games because of a groin injury.
The Lakers are coming off an easy win and cover against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. Los Angeles is the leader in the Western Conference standings at 20-3, and the club owns a 14-9 mark against the spread.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota was up two points with 1.1 seconds left in its game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night and Towns about to take two free throws. Not sure what the probability of OKC winning the game was at this point – but it had to be a fraction of a percent.
Towns missed the first free throw and head coach Ryan Saunders sent reserve big man Jordan Bell into the game for Shabazz Napier. Bell entered the game quickly and forgot to tuck his jersey into the shorts.
Thunder point guard Chris Paul caught this and pleaded for a delay of game. The Wolves were issued a delay of game earlier in the game – which meant another one would result in a technical foul and a free throw for the Thunder.
The officials compiled with Paul’s plead – and Danilo Gallinari hit the free throw to make the score 121-120. Towns hit his second free throw he was due prior to the technical foul. OKC – without a timeout in its pocket – heaved the ball down the court on the inbound and caught the Wolves napping.
Dennis Schroder caught the touchdown pass and laid it up before the buzzer went off. Minnesota – obviously devastated it didn’t close out – fell easily in overtime. That’s about as bad of a loss can get. The Wolves lost outright and failed to cover as 3.5-point underdogs. Talk about a bad beat for Minny backers.
Los Angeles Lakers
One of the most helpful aspects of the Lakers blowing away the competition in the early part of the season – is the drop in minutes per game for LeBron James. The soon-to-be 35-year-old is averaging a career-low 34.7 minutes per game this season.
All those blowouts means fewer minutes and less stress for the four-time league MVP. That should keep The King fresh for a long playoff run.