Oklahoma City Thunder vs Minnesota Timberwolves 12/16/22 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder duke it out at the Paycom Center on Friday night.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been in a real funk as they’ve lost seven of their last 10 games and they will be hoping to snap a three-game skid after getting routed by the Clippers in a 99-88 road loss on Wednesday. Anthony Edwards led the team with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists, Kyle Anderson and Jaylen Nowell each scored 13 points while Rudy Gobert tallied 11 points with 13 rebounds and two blocks. As a team, the Timberwolves shot just 41 percent from the field and a miserly four of 22 from the 3-point line as they held the Clippers to just 38 points in the first half to lead for most of the game, but they couldn’t find their offense in the second half and just had no answer for the Clippers perimeter shooting which cost them in the end.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been in a slump as they’ve lost nine of their last 13 games overall and they will be hoping to put a halt to a four-game slide after falling just short to the Heat in a 110-108 loss on Wednesday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Josh Giddey tallied 19 points with 11 rebounds and seven assists, Luguentz Dort added 18 points while Jalen Williams chipped in with 14 points. As a team, the Thunder shot 50 percent from the field and nine of 24 from the 3-point line as they exploded for 32 points in the third quarter to overcome an early 21-point lead, but they still weren’t able to get over the line as the Heat’s Tyler Herro drained the game-winner with just 4.9 seconds left on the clock.

Looking at the betting trends, the Timberwolves are 1-5 ATS in their last six road games, 0-5 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The Thunder are 5-1 ATS in their last six games following a loss and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games overall.

Head to head, the over is 9-2 in the last 11 meetings in Oklahoma City and the Timberwolves are 4-0-1 ATS in the last five meetings in Oklahoma City.

The Timberwolves could be severely depleted again as Karl Anthony-Towns is still out, while Rudy Gobert and D’Angelo Russell are both listed as questionable. The Thunder have their own injuries as Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Kenrich Williams are both out. The Timberwolves put up a good fight against the Clippers in their last outing, but they still lost by double-digits and I’m expecting a similar result if they don’t have anyone returning to the lineup. The Thunder have been well below their best lately, but they could’ve easily beaten the Heat on Wednesday and they should be good enough to get the job done here.