A pair of Western Conference teams will hook up on Thursday on the final day of the National Basketball Association season before the All Star Break. The Minnesota Timberwolves come into the game with the best record in the Western Conference. Minnesota is 38-16 on the season. The Timberwolves are coming off a win over Portland on Tuesday, and will look to do the same here. Minnesota has won three straight games.
For Portland, they have dropped five straight games. The Trail Blazers are 15-38, which is only better than the Spurs in the Western Conference. Over their last 10 games, Portland has won just three of them.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are -9.5 on the road at Portland. The total is 216.5.
Timberwolves Leading the West
Things have been going well for Minnesota this season. Maybe a year ahead of schedule, the Timberwolves look to be a tough team to eliminate once the postseason arrives. Minnesota has gone 5-2 in the month of February after winning their final two games in January. Their recent three game winning streak has seen them win all by double digits.
Anthony Edwards has emerged as one of the top players in the entire National Basketball Association. He is scoring more than 26 points per game. Big man Karl Anthony Towns is breaking out a bit this season with 22.5 per game, and Rudy Gobert has been a massive upgrade for Minnesota, with 13.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game.
After the NBA All Star game, Minnesota will start by playing seven straight games at home. Minnesota will start the home stand on February 23rd with Milwaukee, and then finish it against Portland on March 4th. The next time the Timberwolves are on the road is March 7th in Indianapolis.
Rough Go for Portland
For Portland, they look to be getting themselves in position for a solid draft pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Portland is 23 games under .500, and only ahead of the Spurs in the West. Portland has not win a game this month. Their last win was on January 31st, as they beat Milwaukee at home.
The Trail Blazers are one of the worst offensive teams in the league. Portland is scoring just 108.2 points per game. Their field goal percentage is just 44.1%, and they are also one of the worst rebounding teams in the league, with 41.5 per game.
The bright spots for Portland this season have been the play of Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant. Simmons has played in just 30 games, but leads the team with 23.3 points per game. Grant is close behind, with more than 21 per game.
Timberwolves Smash Portland
Minnesota is going to win again. What is going to change from Tuesday to Thursday? The Timberwolves seem poised and ready to go. There is a reason they are at the top of the standings, and Portland is at the bottom. The Timberwolves win this game, and win it fairly easily. When betting this game, we are going to take the Minnesota Timberwolves -9.5 over the Portland Trail Blazers.
