Minnesota Timberwolves will meet the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA action on Friday evening. The hosts enjoy good momentum, and they want to build up on it. The away side wants to stay at the top of their division and will search for victory on the road.
Minnesota is on the right track to the playoffs, and they eye one of the top two positions at the end of the regular season. The home side has played well lately, and they look forward to continuing with good performances. On the other hand, Philadelphia wants to lock the pole position in its division, and they want to continue playing well on the road.
Minnesota Timberwolves – Can they celebrate back-to-back wins?
The Timberwolves are about to continue in a pacy rhythm after playing on Thursday evening against another tough opponent, Memphis Grizzlies. They were successful in their latest home match and improved to a 32-28 record in the Northwest Division. However, they remained third on the standings since the Denver Nuggets were also successful last night. After trailing ten points in the first quarter, Minnesota started playing better to secure a 119-114 victory. Although the Grizzlies outplayed them in the paint (59-42 rebounds), D’Angelo Russell led them to the victory by scoring 37 points, followed by nine assists and a pair of rebounds for 38 minutes on the court.
Karl-Anthony Towns has been the most productive player for the Timberwolves with 24.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, four assists, 1.2 blocks, and one steal per contest on average. Anthony Edwards has also provided a significant contribution with 21.6 pts, 4.8 rebs, 3.6 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. D’Angelo Russell tops the team’s assists charts with seven while chipping in with 19.2 points per match. Regarding the availability issues, Minnesota shouldn’t have any.
Expected Line-Up: Patrick Beverley, D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards, Jarred Vanderbilt, Karl-Anthony Towns
with best odds
Philadelphia 76ers – Will they keep winning on the away court?
The 76ers can be pretty satisfied with their current campaign, as they sit on the top of the Atlantic Division with a 35-23 record. They had a full week of rest before this clash and hope to keep up where they left off. Philadelphia has the same number of wins as the Celtics, but they have three games in hand. In the latest one, they were better than the Bucks on the road, celebrating a 123-120 victory. They hit half of their field goal attempts, with Joel Embiid being the most dominant player on the court with 42 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists for 42 minutes spent.
Joel Embiid has contributed the most to Philadelphia’s offense with 29.6 points while controlling the paint at the same time with 11.2 rebounds. He also averages 4.5 assists, 1.4 blocks, and one steal per game. Tobias Harris produces 18.7 pts, 7.3 rebs, and 3.7 assists, while Tyrese Maxey is the best assistant on the team with 4.6. Maxey also has 16.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest. The 76ers also have a clean bill of health ahead of this game, and all players should be available.
Expected Line-Up: Tyrese Maxey, James Harden, Matisse Thybulle, Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid
Expert Pick #1 – Philadelphia 76ers -2.5 @110
These two teams are pretty evenly matched, and the game can go either way. However, the hosts came from a demanding match just one day ago, while the 76ers had more time to rest and prepare. All eyes will be on James Harden’s debut for Philadelphia, and I think the away side will win and cover. I’ll take them as my first pick.
Expert Pick #2 – Over 228.5 @-110
The Timberwolves have been involved in some efficient games lately, as their four of the last five matches went over the margin. Although their clashes in Minnesota haven’t been too productive, I’m going with the Over as my second bet.
Expert Pick #3 – Philadelphia 76ers Over 115.5 @-115
Philadelphia has been very productive in their last two outings, scoring 119+ points. I think they can keep up where they left off and provide another solid offensive display. I’ll back them to produce more than 115 points as the third pick at the slightly lower odds than the first two.
