Dallas Mavericks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves NBA Picks, Odds, Predictions 12/17/20

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks meet Thursday in NBA preseason action at the American Airlines Center.

The Minnesota Timberwolves look for a preseason win to avoid an 0-3 record. The Minnesota Timberwolves are averaging 104.5 points on 39.9 percent shooting and allowing 115 points on 46.2 percent shooting. D’Angelo Russell is averaging 16.5 points and three assists while Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 13.5 points and 2.5 assists. Jaylen Nowell is the third double-digit scorer and Malik Beasley is grabbing four rebounds. The Minnesota Timberwolves are shooting 32 percent from beyond the arc and 73.4 percent from the free thitem line. The Minnesota Timberwolves are allowing 30.1 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 49 rebounds per game.

The Dallas Mavericks look for another preseason win to finish things with a 3-0 record. The Dallas Mavericks are averaging 120 points on 43.8 percent shooting and allowing 107 points on 45 percent shooting. Luka Doncic is averaging 20 points and four assists while Josh Richardson is averaging 16 points and four rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr. is the third double-digit scorer and Maxi Kleber is grabbing 5.5 rebounds. The Dallas Mavericks are shooting 43.8 percent from beyond the arc and 75.6 percent from the free thitem line. The Dallas Mavericks are allowing 29.6 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 50 rebounds per game.

The Timberwolves are 7-17 ATS in their last 24 games playing on 2 days rest and 17-35-1 ATS in their last 53 games overall. The Mavericks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games playing on 2 days rest and 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games overall. The Timberwolves are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Dallas and 1-7 ATS in the last 8 meetings.

I was leaning toward the Minnesota Timberwolves and the points because it’s a lot of free buckets in a meaningless game, but it’s hard to get behind them given their play through two contests. The Dallas Mavericks have bene the better team here, but they’ve also been shaky at best defensively. Bottom line here is both teams have been a bit passive on the defensive side and are allowing solid shooting percentages. I expect some fireworks, so I’ll take the over.