Minnesota Timberwolves (42-40) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (43-39)
April 11, 2023 10:00 pm EDT
The Line: Los Angeles Lakers -7.5; Over/Under: +227.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have been in great form as they’ve won seven of their last 10 games overall and they will be feeling great after beating the Pelicans in a 113-108 home win on Sunday for their third straight victory. Karl-Anthony Towns led the team with 30 points, eight rebounds and one block on 10 of 19 shooting, Anthony Edwards added 26 points with 13 rebounds and four blocks while Mike Conley tallied 17 points with seven assists. As a team, the Timberwolves shot 47 percent from the field and 13 of 36 from the 3-point line as they poured in 66 points in the second half to escape with the narrow win after trailing by as many as 14 points. The win came at a cost though as Rudy Gobert was sent home early for throwing a punch at a teammate during a timeout in the second quarter and has been suspended for Tuesday’s Play-In game.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers are coming into this game with plenty of momentum as they’ve reeled off nine wins in their last 11 games overall and they will be eager to stay hot after blowing past the Jazz in a 128-117 home win on Sunday. LeBron James led the way with 36 points, six rebounds and six assists, D’Angelo Russell added 17 points with five assists while Anthony Davis chipped in with 16 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. As a team, the Lakers shot 48 percent from the field and 18 of 45 from the 3-point line as they jumped all over the Jazz from the start and poured in 65 points in the first half to take control early and they just didn’t take their foot off the gas till the end as they showed no mercy against a depleted Jazz lineup.
Looking at the betting trends, the Timberwolves are 5-1 ATS in their last six road games and 6-1 ATS in their last seven road games. The Lakers are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games following an ATS loss.
Head to head, the under is 6-1 in the last seven meetings overall, the Timberwolves are 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings in Los Angeles and the Timberwolves are 6-1 ATS in the last seven meetings overall.
The Timberwolves are shorthanded for this one as Rudy Gobert is suspended while Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaylen Nowell are both questionable. The Lakers are coming into this one with a full squad except for maybe the newly acquired Tristan Thompson who is currently listed as day to day. These two teams met three times in the regular season and it was the Timberwolves who won the series by 2-1, but with the Lakers back to full health, it is no surprise that they open as favorites in this spot. The Timberwolves have the edge in terms of betting trends, but with what is at stake, I’d rather go with the Lakers to get the win and cover at home behind big games from James and Davis.
