Minnesota Timberwolves vs Toronto Raptors NBA Picks, Odds, Predictions 2/19/21

The Toronto Raptors and the Minnesota Timberwolves collide at the Target Center on Friday night.

The Toronto Raptors have been in great form lately as they’ve won seven of their past 10 games and they will be looking to stay hot after blowing past the Bucks in a 110-96 road win on Thursday. Norman Powell added 29 points on nine of 12 shooting, Pascal Siakam added 27 points with five assists while Fred VanVleet chipped in with 17 points and eight assists. As a team, the Raptors shot 48 percent from the field and 12 of 35 from the 3-point line as they jumped all over the Bucks early and held them to just 41 points in the first half to lead by as many as 23 points which gave them plenty of cushion in the second half where the Bucks made a bit of a run. Kyle Lowry sat out the game with thumb and ankle injuries and he is listed as questionable for Friday.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been in rough shape as they’ve lost six of their past seven games and they will be hoping to stop a two-game skid after falling painfully short to the Pacers in a 134-128 overtime loss on Wednesday. Malik Beasley led the team in scoring with 21 points on 13 of 25 shooting off the bench, Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points with 10 rebounds, Ricky Rubio scored 20 points with 13 assists while Naz Reid chipped in with 18 points. As a team, the Timberwolves shot just 42 percent from the field and 15 of 40 from the 3-point line as they started hot with 40 points in the second quarter, before going cold when it mattered as they squandered a 10-point lead and managed just seven points in the overtime period. Anthony Edwards has been hot for the Timberwolves lately, but he had a night to forget as he scored just eight points on three of 15 shooting.

Looking at the betting trends, the Raptors are 5-2 ATS in their last seven road games, 5-11 ATS in their last 16 games against a team with a losing record and 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team below .400. The Timberwolves are 16-34-1 ATS in their last 51 home games, 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 games against a team with a losing record and 7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 games overall.

Head to head, the over is 6-1 in the last seven meetings in Minnesota, the Raptors are 22-10 ATS in the last 32 meetings overall and the Raptors are 11-4 ATS in the last 15 meetings in Minnesota.

The Raptors will likely be without their starting point guard in Kyle Lowry once again while the Timberwolves will still be without D’Angelo Russell. The Timberwolves have been showing signs of improvement lately as each of their last eight losses have been by single digits, but with the line so short, I’m sticking with the Raptors to continue their strong form with a win and cover here.