New Orleans Pelicans vs Minnesota Timberwolves NBA Picks, Odds, Predictions 3/11/21

The Minnesota Timberwolves and the New Orleans Pelicans do battle at the Smoothie King Center on Thursday night.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been in dreadful form lately as they’ve lost 13 of their past 14 games and they will be hoping to snap a nine-game skid after getting routed by the Hornets in a 135-102 home loss last Wednesday. Ricky Rubio led the team with 20 points and nine assists on seven of 11 shooting, Anthony Edwards added 19 points on eight of 23 shooting while Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in with 16 points and 15 rebounds. As a team, the Timberwolves shot just 40 percent from the field and nine of 40 from the 3-point line as they hung in the contest in the first half, before getting blown out in the second half by 73-46 as they had no answer for the rampaging Hornets who shot 52 percent from the field.

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been in pretty poor shape themselves as they’ve lost nine of their past 13 games and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after getting stopped by the Heat in a 103-93 home loss on Thursday. Brandon Ingram led the team in scoring with 17 points and nine assists, Steven Adams added 15 points on six of seven shooting, Josh Hart scored 12 points while Lonzo Ball chipped in with just 10 points on four of 16 shooting. As a team, the Pelicans shot just 39 percent from the field and 11 of 43 from the 3-point line as they cut an early 17-point deficit to just two points in the fourth quarter, only to see the Heat run away with it in the final minutes.

Looking at the betting trends, the Timberwolves are 0-4 ATS in their last four road games, 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record and 1-10 ATS in their last 11 games overall. The Pelicans are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a losing record, 2-5 ATS in their last seven home games and 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games overall. 

Head to head, the over is 13-6 in the last 19 meetings overall, the Timberwolves are 9-3 ATS in the last 12 meetings overall and the Timberwolves are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings in New Orleans.

The Timberwolves have been ice-cold for a while now and their confidence must be low on confidence after their 33-point loss to the Hornets a week ago, while the Pelicans have only been slightly better as they’ve won four of their past 13 games. D’Angelo Russell isn’t expected back until next week at the earliest, so the Timberwolves will be shorthanded once again. With that being said, I’m taking the Pelicans to get back on track with a much-needed win here.