Oklahoma City Thunder vs Minnesota Timberwolves 

How To Watch:

Date: Friday, April 14, 2023

Time: 9:30 pm EST

TV: ESPN

Venue: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 

 

2022-2023 Regular Season Matchups:

October 19, 2022: Timberwolves- 115, Thunder- 108

Top performers: Rudy Gobert (23 points, 16 rebounds, two assists)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (32 points, six rebounds, five assists).

 

October 23, 2022: Timberwolves- 116, Thunder- 106

Top performers: Anthony Edwards (30 points, 11 rebounds, three assists), Luguentz Dort (20 points, three rebounds, two assists).

 

December 3, 2023: Thunder- 135, Timberwolves- 128

Top performers: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (33 points, one rebounds, six assists), D’Angelo Russell (27 points, three rebounds, six assists)

 

March 11, 2023: Timberwolves-112, Thunder- 110

Top performers: Naz Reid (28 points, nine rebounds, three assists), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (35 points, seven rebounds, five assists)

Why the Thunder Can Win:

The Thunder showed an increased balanced offensive attack in their win over the New Orleans Pelicans as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was not the only player to score over 30 points. Josh Giddey ended up scoring 31 points to go with Gilgeous-Alexander. The duo gets a Minnesota defense now that is without one of their best defenders in Jaden McDaniels, and they just dominated a Pelicans defense that was way above the Timberwolves 18th defense. 

 

Why the Timberwolves Can Win:

Minnesota is stronger on offense compared to defense, and they will need that quick pace to keep up against the Thunder. Anthony Edwards leads the team in scoring with 24.6 points, but went three-of-17 against the Los Angeles Lakers. He will need to be better in this matchup, and it presents the opportunity for him to do so as he has averaged 21.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists against the Thunder this season. Between him and Karl Anthony-Towns, they present matchup issues for the Thunder defense. 

 

Prediction and Bet:

The Timberwolves have the rest advantage and the home court advantage, but they are getting a Thunder team coming in with momentum. In crunch time, the Thunder were able to mount a comeback to win, the opposite happened for Minnesota as they couldn’t hang onto their lead. The offense of the Thunder will establish the pace in this matchup, and lead them to the win. The Thunder are also 20-11-3 ATS when a road dog, while Minnesota is 8-17 as a home favorite, making the Thunder covering the spread the best bet.

 

Score Prediction: 

Oklahoma City Thunder- 115, Minnesota Timberwolves- 112

Bet: Thunder +5.5

 

Odds Presented by Betfred Sportsbook 

Spread- Oklahoma City Thunder +5.5 (-110) / Minnesota Timberwolves -5.5 (-110)

Moneyline- Oklahoma City Thunder +180 / Minnesota Timberwolves -225

Total- 228.5 Over (-110) / Under (-110) 

 

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