Minnesota (42-40) at LA Lakers (43-39)
When: Tuesday, April 11th 2023
Where: Crypto.com Arena,
Los Angeles, CA
Time: 10:00 ET | TV: TNT
Opening Odds: Los Angeles -5.5/232.5
The inconsistent Minnesota Timberwolves will visit the surging Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night in a Western Conference Play-In game at Crypto.com Arena. This is a loser-our game, with the winner playing later this week and a chance to get into the field of 16 starting on Saturday. Minnesota has been up-and-down all season long and it was never more evident than what happened over the last month of the regular season.
The T’wolves went on a three-game losing streak, followed by a four-game winning streak, then a three-game skid, before ending with three victories in a row. This is a team capable of making some noise with the fourth-best shooting percentage in the league. They have three really good players in Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns.
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The Lakers have been one of the best teams since the All-Star Break and went 9-2 down the stretch to finish with a winning record and a home game against Minnesota. L.A. finished the regular season sixth in the NBA in scoring per game. The defense was near the bottom all season long, but the late surge moved them to 20th.
Minnesota took two of the three meetings this season, but L.A. won the most recent on March 31st in Minneapolis 123-111. The Lakers are 7.5-point favorites in this contest with a total of 231.5. The winner will take on the loser of Wednesday’s Oklahoma City vs. New Orleans game.
The Timberwolves won Sunday’s game over New Orleans 113-109, but things got ugly on the sidelines. Gobert and Kyle Anderson got into an altercation during the game and Jaden McDaniels, who has had a solid season, punched a wall and now must miss games. Edwards led the way on Sunday with 26 points and 13 rebounds and leads the team with a 24.6-point average. Minnesota finished the regular season with a 20-20 ATS record away from home.
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The Lakers ended their regular season with a 128-117 victory over the already-eliminated Utah Jazz. LeBron James led the way with 36 points including eight three-pointers in the victory. Anthony Davis had a typical game on the boards, collecting 13 rebounds, and D’Angelo Russell finished with 17 points. L.A. won 9-of-11 down the stretch and are 21-19 ATS at home. One alarming trend is that the Lakers are 0-7 ATS in their last seven when scoring more than 125 in their previous game.
The Lakers are certainly the better team right now, but Minnesota is very dangerous offensively. They have also had success recently in L.A., going 7-3 ATS in their last 10 trips there. This seems like a lot of points to lay here, so I’ll take the T’wolves.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free NBA Picks page for today.
Pick: Timberwolves +7.5
