Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Betting Preview
The Minnesota Timberwolves have had a pretty great start to their season. Although they lost their last game against the New Orleans Pelicans, they’re still 2-1 on the year.
They’ve got a real test in front of them when they face the Milwaukee Bucks. Karl-Anthony Towns will need to play his best against the Bucks for the Timberwolves to have a chance here.
The Milwaukee Bucks are the reigning NBA champions and are currently playing like it. They’re 3-1 on the year and have wins over the Pacers, Spurs, and Nets. This game against the Timberwolves will be their first home game in a week. Back at home in front of their fans, the Milwaukee Bucks will look to increase their record to 4-1.
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Minnesota will need more than just KAT against the Bucks
It’s great that Karl-Anthony Towns is starting off fast, but his teammates need to step it up too. If they aren’t able to provide him with help, they’ll struggle against the Bucks. Personally, we’d like to see some more scoring from Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell. If those two can come together against the Bucks, Minnesota could be in good shape.
Rebounding will be one of the most important parts of this game, especially second-chance ones. Minnesota actually has a slight edge over the Bucks there, ranking 21st in the NBA. If they can get some extra boards, they should be able to cover the spread. As always, they’ll have to find a way to slow down Giannis, which could fall onto Jaden McDaniels.
Although heavily injured, the Bucks are still the favorites
When taking a look at the injury list, you can see that the Bucks are missing quite a few players. Jrue Holiday, the starting point guard, is still listed as out. Both centers, Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis, are out as well. With so many players sidelined, you’d think that the Bucks would only be slight favorites.
However, per BetUS and Bovada, the Bucks are -7.5 favorites even with the injuries. This is because they’ve played incredibly without these players already. With Antetokounmpo leading the charge, the Bucks are still one of the best teams in the NBA. Against the Timberwolves, however, the big bodies of Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis would’ve helped.
Take a look at the spread for Timberwolves vs. Bucks
As mentioned above, the Milwaukee Bucks come in as -7.5 favorites per BetUS. Even though it’s quite a bit of points, the Bucks have been incredible against the spread this season. So far, they’re 3-1 ATS compared to the Timberwolves record of 1-2 ATS. If you’re looking for the more trustworthy team at the sportsbook, it’s Milwaukee.
We also have to consider that the Timberwolves lost by 9 to the New Orleans Pelicans just days ago. Clearly, the Milwaukee Bucks are a much better team than the Pelicans, so take that into consideration. In their last six games, the Minnesota Timberwolves are 2-4 ATS and 2-8 against the Milwaukee Bucks. The better bet here is the more consistent team, which isn’t Minnesota.
Our NBA pick for Timberwolves vs. Bucks: Milwaukee Bucks -7.5
It might seem like a lot of points, but the Bucks beat the Pacers and Spurs by ten points with ease. Not to mention their absolute throttling of the Brooklyn Nets 127-104. Even with the injuries, the Milwaukee Bucks are the better team to take here.
We would say that it’d be smart to take the under in this game as well. The total has gone under in seven of Minnesota’s last eight games. With players missing from the Bucks lineup, it’s likely this score goes under the 228.5 total.