In the fast-moving sports world, stories that happened fairly recently often get lost in the shuffle and feel like they’re years in the past. The Jimmy Butler situation at the beginning of this season in Minnesota feels a little like this, however, it’s been just over two months since the Timberwolves were able to rid themselves of the Butler distraction. He’s now Philadelphia’s problem and those teams meet tonight for the first time since the trade, with Butler’s new team the 6.5-point favorite at Wells Fargo Center.
- The total has gone OVER in four of the 76ers’ last five games at home (avg. combined score: 232.8).
- The Timberwolves are 4-1 ATS in their last five games as an underdog of 7.5 or more.
- The Timberwolves are 1-7 ATS in their last eight games vs the 76ers.
Timberwolves vs 76ers Game Center
New Team, Same Problems
Jimmy Butler has proven to be a terrible teammate and the ultimate “me” guy in each of his NBA stops. Philadelphia is his latest team and just recently the latest issue cropped up with reported disagreements with Brett Brown and the coaching staff.
With that, the Sixers are 1-4 ATS in their last five games, including straight-up losses to Atlanta and Washington and a narrow victory over the desperate New York Knicks in which Butler played just 28 minutes with 16 points.
Rose and Teague Are Both Questionable
Thirty-year-old Derrick Rose has missed 11 of the last 14 games and is listed as questionable for tonight. He returned from a six-game absence on Friday against Dallas but then missed Saturday’s game against the Pelicans.
When in the lineup, Rose has been quite effective (18.9 PPG) and is the team’s second-leading scorer behind Karl-Anthony Towns.
Another point guard, Jeff Teague, left the game against the Pelicans and is questionable to play tonight as well. If neither is able to go, this will leave Minnesota with a huge hole at point guard and give the Sixers a huge advantage in this one.
My Best Bet for Tonight
Depending on the Minnesota lineup, I’ve got two different plays for this game. If at least one of their point guards will be in the lineup, I like the Timberwolves to cover the 6.5 points against a Philly team that hasn’t been able to put teams away recently.
If the two point guards are out of the Minnesota lineup, I like UNDER 231 points as the T-Wolves will likely have a hard time coming up with their side of the total.
