The Minnesota Timberwolves will look to finally get the monkey off their back when they visit the Boston Celtics on Friday. The T-Wolves have lost their last 11 games on the parquet court, with their last victory in Beantown coming on March 6, 2005. To put that into perspective, Kevin Garnett and Wally Szczerbiak were the leading scorers for the Timberwolves in that game.
- The Timberwolves are 1-8 ATS in their last 9 games against the Eastern Conference.
- The Timberwolves are 1-3 ATS in their last 4 games against the Celtics.
- The Celtics are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games at home against teams with winning records.
Jimmy Butler continues to carry Minny, as the three-time all-star is averaging 28.8 points and 17 shots per game in the Timberwolves’ past nine outings – seven of which were victories. Butler is a legitimate MVP candidate but overworking him is a concern. The T-Wolves are undoubtedly looking to get more consistent offensive production from Andrew Wiggins in order to alleviate some of the pressure on Butler.
The Celtics enter this contest riding a three-game winning streak at home – though two of those victories were by three points or less. Kyrie Irving is coming off one of his worst outings since becoming a member of the Celtics, with the point guard scoring 11 points while going 0-for-5 from beyond the arc on Wednesday vs Cleveland. It’s worth noting that Irving has been held under 20 points just six times this season and he scored 30 or more in the following game five times.
Sportsbook Odds & Computer Pick
The Boston Celtics opened as 5.5-point favorites at online sportsbook Sportsbook, while the NBA total line was sitting around 205.5 at Sportsbook for those who prefer OVER/UNDER betting on the total amount of points scored.
A 104-103 result in favor of the Timberwolves is the prediction by the OddsShark handicapping pick engine. View the computer score prediction and who will win the pick on the moneyline for all upcoming NBA matchups here.
Minnesota Timberwolves vs Boston Celtics Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
The Boston Celtics bring a 31-10 record (25-14-2 ATS) to the battle against the 24-15 Minnesota Timberwolves, who are 17-20-2 ATS. Fans OVER/UNDER betting have seen Boston go 20-20-1 so far and Minnesota go 20-18-1. Stay Informed: follow us on Twitter for odds specials, betting line moves and Boston vs Minnesota injuries news.
The betting Power Rankings at OddsShark have the No. 6-rated Timberwolves taking on the No. 15-rated Celtics in this NBA contest.
Statistical Matchup
Offensively the game matches up Boston's No. 20-ranked offense (103.41 PPG) against a Minnesota defense that ranks No. 13 at 105.74 PPG. The Celtics have averaged 45.29% from the field per game, less than the Timberwolves have managed so far this NBA season (47.57% on average).
Recent Outings Betting Recap
The Timberwolves wasted a 30-point performance from Jimmy Butler as Brooklyn ran past them 98-97 on Wednesday at Barclays Center.
Boston earned a 102-88 victory over Cleveland on Wednesday, getting 20 points from Terry Rozier at TD Garden.
- Minnesota is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games
- Minnesota is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
- Minnesota is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games on the road
- Boston is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
- Boston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
- Boston is 3-5-1 ATS in its last 9 games at home
- Boston is 17-4 SU in its last 21 games at home
Next Betting Matchups
Minnesota home to New Orleans, Saturday, January 6
Boston at Brooklyn, Saturday, January 6
