Timberwolves Look To Snap Skid Vs Depleted Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers (11-15, 10-16 ATS) host the Minnesota Timberwolves (11-15, 11-15) on Sunday as both teams look to get out of their respective skids. The Trail Blazers have lost four straight games and seven of their last eight while the Timberwolves have dropped five consecutive contests.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Timberwolves opened as 1-point favorites on the road with the total set at 219 points. The UNDER is 4-1 in Portland’s last five games while the OVER is 4-1 in Minnesota’s last five. Minnesota is 1-5 ATS in its last six outings while Portland is 2-6 in its last eight contests.

Minnesota News & Notes

The Timberwolves dropped their fifth straight game on Friday in a 123-106 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 21 points and seven rebounds – his seventh straight game with at least 20 points.

Towns has been one of the few offensive bright spots for the Timberwolves this season. The team’s leading scorer has averaged 24 points per game – the 13th-best mark in the NBA – while putting up three 30-plus point performances in his last five outings.

D’Angelo Russell (ankle) has been sidelined since December 3 and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s matchup.

Portland News & Notes

The Trail Blazers fell 104-94 to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, extending their losing streak to four games. Norman Powell scored a game-high 26 points but didn’t have much support as Portland failed to put up 100 points for the second straight outing and third time in four contests.

Portland has been without its two top players for a week now, which coincides with their losing skid. Damian Lillard (abdominal) has not played since November 29 and is questionable for Sunday while CJ McCollum (lung) has been sidelined since December 4 and is out indefinitely.

The injury list continues as Nassir Little (calf), Anfernee Simons (ankle), and Cody Zeller (quad) are all listed as questionable for the team’s meeting with Minnesota.

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How Minnesota Will Cover

Towns has been a force this season at both ends of the court this season and he’s been especially hot in recent weeks. Facing a depleted Portland squad that could be without Lillard and McCollum on Sunday, Towns could be poised for another big night to help Minnesota stop its losing skid.

How Portland Will Cover

As we’ve seen during their four-game slide, the Trail Blazers have struggled mightily since losing their top two scorers as the offense simply hasn’t been there. If Lillard returns to the lineup, Portland has a good chance at picking up the win – otherwise, they’ll be in tough.

Computer Pick: Trail Blazers -1

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