by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Mar 10, 2023
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Venue: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Where to watch: BSN, YES
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Timberwolves -5
FanDuel: Timberwolves -5.5
BetMGM: Timberwolves -5
Caesars: Timberwolves -5
Season record
Nets: 37-29
Timberwolves: 34-33
The All-Star break is over in the NBA and it's time to get on the horse and finish up the final home stretch of the season. Big trades, uncertainty, and absolute hilarity across the board all gearing up for the final home stretch of this season. You know who is also gearing up for the home stretch? Our champion handicappers at bigal.com who are ready to win their way all the way to the playoffs. There's a lot going on that we can't wait for in these final 23-25 games and you're going to need every bit of hardcore analysis you can get from this group. Just in the last 30 days we've had some big winners. Doc's Sports has posted a 16-6-0 record in the last month (+$9,200). AAA Sports has killed it at 17-8-0, and then Al McMordie with a dominant 20-11-1 mark over the last 30 days. Everything you need to know and more about what's going on this league and sports in general will be a fun finish to the end. All you have to do is go to bigal.com and find our Best Bets page and put forth something that only you think is good. Here's a hint: Go to the bigal.com website and happy betting!
Nets - Timberwolves preview, prediction and analysis
I absolutely did not have the Brooklyn Nets coming within points of defeating the Milwaukee Bucks on my bingo card Thursday night. Considering the fact that the Nets literally had half of their roster out due to injury, and the same is to be likely on Friday when Brooklyn takes on the Minnesota Timberwolves with Brooklyn on the second night of a back-to-back.
Let's just give you an idea of what Brooklyn was dealing with here. Spencer Dinwiddie did not play, Ben Simmons did not play, Royce O'Neale did not play, Cam Johnson did not play, and Nic Claxton did not play. Do the math and that's 80% of your starting 5 and a huge bulk of your scoring.
And then you look at the bench and nothing makes sense. Patty Mills had 23 points off the bench, Cam Thomas in relief had 21 points on 7 of 13 shooting in 26 minutes, some kid named Dru Smith had 17 points, and David Duke Jr. finished 13 points. Mikal Bridges played just 12 minutes and gave the Nets 10 points.
“We picked up the energy," said Thomas. “We started getting on the glass and getting stops. That was the main key -- getting stops, getting down and running and playing faster.”
The Nets had been cooking with gas as of late with three straight wins, including a win at Boston that seemed to let the world know that the era post Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving wasn’t lost. It doesn’t help that nearly the entire starting lineup didn’t play. But the Nets did cover for a fourth straight game as 9.5-point dogs against Milwaukee. Expect the spread to be high again this time around, especially on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Timberwolves had their three-game winning streak end on Tuesday against the Philadelphia 76ers in what was a rout of wild proportions at home, losing 117-94 with Joel Embiid going off for 39 points. Anthony Edwards scored 32 points and grabbed seven rebounds … and that was it. The other five starters for Minnesota combined to shoot 7 of 25. And Minnesota shot 39.5 percent collectively from the floor.
“We’ve been hitting shots,” Edwards said. “We’ve been shooting great from the 3-ball. Nights like this are bound to happen. You got to get over it, look to the next game. Hopefully, we’re back to ourselves.”
Minnesota had a 3-game ATS winning streak end as 3.5-point favorites against the 76ers, who were dealing with travel en route to this game. But they beat Sacramento and both L.A. teams. Things seemed to be going right, but that’s not the case at the moment after that one. But they should feel better about this game.
Prediction
Minnesota should be able to handle a depleted Nets team that’s traveling to them. If not, things could go haywire real quick. Timberwolves 118, Nets 100
Projected starting lineup
Nets:
PG: Seth Curry
SG: Mikal Bridges
SF: Joe Harris
PF: Dorian Finney-Smith
C: Nerlens Noel
Timberwolves:
PG: Mike Conley
SG: Anthony Edwards
SF: Jaden McDaniels
PF: Kyle Anderson
C: Rudy Gobert
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this preview, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NBA projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
