Minnesota Timberwolves (44-44) vs. Denver Nuggets (56-30)
April 25, 2023 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Denver Nuggets -9; Over/Under: 223
(Get latest betting odds)
The Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets meet Tuesday in Game 5 of the NBA West First Round Playoffs at the Ball Arena. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are averaging 104.5 points on 44.6 percent shooting and allowing 114.8 points on 50 percent shooting. Anthony Edwards is averaging 32.3 points and 4.3 rebounds, while Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 16.3 points and 1.8 assists. Rudy Gobert is the third double-digit scorer and Mike Conley is grabbing 2.3 rebounds. The Minnesota Timberwolves are shooting 37.5 percent from beyond the arc and 77.1 percent from the free throw line. The Minnesota Timberwolves are allowing 39.8 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 39 rebounds per game.
The Denver Nuggets are averaging 114.8 points on 50 percent shooting and allowing 104.5 points on 44.6 percent shooting. Nikola Jokic is averaging 25.8 points and 11.3 rebounds, while Jamal Murray is averaging 25.3 points and 6 rebounds. Michael Porter Jr. is the third double-digit scorer and Aaron Gordon is grabbing 7.3 rebounds. The Denver Nuggets are shooting 39.8 percent from beyond the arc and 74 percent from the free throw line. The Denver Nuggets are allowing 37.5 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 44.3 rebounds per game.
The Timberwolves are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games playing on 1 days rest and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Conference Quarterfinals games. The Nuggets are 20-8 ATS in their last 28 home games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The under is 5-2 in Timberwolves last 7 road games. The under is 12-4-1 in Nuggets last 17 overall. The Timberwolves are 24-9 ATS in the last 33 meetings in Denver and 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
The Denver Nuggets have been one of the best home teams in the league, where they win by an average of 10.2 points and shoot 51.3 percent from the field. A blowout win wouldn’t be surprising. However, the last 3 games between these teams have been decided by single digits. The Timberwolves have been in these games and have had chances to steal them, but players outside of Edwards aren’t stepping up. The Timberwolves lose on the road by an average of 1.9 points and as underdogs by an average of 2.4 points. Give me the points with the Timberwolves.
