by Chuck Sommers
Tuesday, Jan 24, 2023
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Venue: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
Where to watch: BSNO, BSN
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Pelicans -2; NO -130, MIN +110
FanDuel: Pelicans -2; NO -130, MIN +110
BetMGM: Pelicans -2.5; NO -135, MIN +110
Caesars: Pelicans -2
Season record
Timberwolves: 24-25
Pelicans: 26-22
The second half of the basketball season is upon us, and what a cluster we've got in the standings right now, right? So many teams are in the playoff hunt, so many teams not expected to make the playoffs are in the process of trying to prove people wrong. You know who doesn't need to be made wrong? Our champion handicappers who have been killing it all year long. Scott Rickenbach is coming off a 5-2-0 week over the last seven days, while Doc's Sports has been efficient at 14-8-0 over the last 30 days. Do you want to get on this winning? Make sure you're following our champion handicappers at bigal.com to celebrate in these moments!
Timberwolves - Pelicans preview, prediction and analysis
Recent form
MIN: lost 119-114 at Rockets
NOP: lost 99-98 vs. Nuggets
The Minnesota Timberwolves will be playing the New Orleans on Wednesday, January 25.
The Timberwolves could not secure the home-and-home bag with the Houston Rockets, losing 119-114 while Jalen Green erupted for a career-high 42 points. Yeah, we were wrong on this one because you should never underestimate the heart of a champion ... or heart of a lottery team.
Anthony Edwards had 31 points and D'Angelo Russell chipped in with 30, but there was no secondary help in the scoring department. Jaden McDaniels had just 10 points on 4 of 11 shooting, and the Timberwolves only mustered 45 percent shooting as a team.
“You are what you repeatedly do,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “We've repeatedly struggled with these types of games so focus... has to be part of the problem, but we just didn't have enough guys play well either.”
It's not the ideal situation for the Timberwolves, but they continue to lack consistency. While it was great to see Edwards carry over from his 44-point effort with another strong 31-point game, they are still lacking the star power of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert.
The Timberwolves have wrapped up six of their last 10 despite three losses coming in the last five games but had a three-game against-the-spread streak end in the loss to Houston. The Wolves were 6-point favorites and the over cashed barely.
The New Orleans Pelicans lost against the Miami Heat last Sunday, January 22 in Miami, Florida with a score of 100-96. The New Orleans Pelicans currently rank 2nd in the Southwest Division. Trey Murphy III had 17 for New Orleans, which got 14 points and 16 rebounds from Jonas Valanciunas. CJ McCollum scored 13 and Larry Nance Jr. added 12 for for the Pelicans.
New Orleans’ 25th turnover came on a five-second violation with 15.1 seconds left, with the Heat up by two. The Pelicans argued that Dyson Daniels was calling for a time-out before the violation, to no avail.
“I felt like I called time-out ... didn't get the call," Daniels said. “It is what it is."
The Pelicans led by 16 points on two occasions in the first half, the last coming when Murphy had a dunk with 3:52 left. That made it 47-31, and that was still the score 2 minutes later when Herro made a 3 to begin what was a 10-0 run to end the half by the Heat.
The Pelicans' struggles have long continued without Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram and letting that one slip on Tuesday to the Nuggets was no exception. Then again, you can't do much if Nikola Jokic is burying game-winning jumpers like he once again did.
Despite two straight losses, the Pelicans have covered the last two as underdogs by at least seven points.
Prediction
I can see a dropoff with the Pelicans, but the fact that they're at home helps. But Minnesota is too stacked on the wings and the Pelicans won't have enough to counter. Timberwolves 115, Pelicans 105
The Minnesota Timberwolves will be playing the New Orleans on Wednesday, January 25.
The Timberwolves could not secure the home-and-home bag with the Houston Rockets, losing 119-114 while Jalen Green erupted for a career-high 42 points. Yeah, we were wrong on this one because you should never underestimate the heart of a champion ... or heart of a lottery team.
Anthony Edwards had 31 points and D'Angelo Russell chipped in with 30, but there was no secondary help in the scoring department. Jaden McDaniels had just 10 points on 4 of 11 shooting, and the Timberwolves only mustered 45 percent shooting as a team.
“You are what you repeatedly do,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “We've repeatedly struggled with these types of games so focus... has to be part of the problem, but we just didn't have enough guys play well either.”
It's not the ideal situation for the Timberwolves, but they continue to lack consistency. While it was great to see Edwards carry over from his 44-point effort with another strong 31-point game, they are still lacking the star power of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert.
The Timberwolves have wrapped up six of their last 10 despite three losses coming in the last five games but had a three-game against-the-spread streak end in the loss to Houston. The Wolves were 6-point favorites and the over cashed barely.
The New Orleans Pelicans lost against the Miami Heat last Sunday, January 22 in Miami, Florida with a score of 100-96. The New Orleans Pelicans currently rank 2nd in the Southwest Division. Trey Murphy III had 17 for New Orleans, which got 14 points and 16 rebounds from Jonas Valanciunas. CJ McCollum scored 13 and Larry Nance Jr. added 12 for for the Pelicans.
New Orleans’ 25th turnover came on a five-second violation with 15.1 seconds left, with the Heat up by two. The Pelicans argued that Dyson Daniels was calling for a time-out before the violation, to no avail.
“I felt like I called time-out ... didn't get the call," Daniels said. “It is what it is."
The Pelicans led by 16 points on two occasions in the first half, the last coming when Murphy had a dunk with 3:52 left. That made it 47-31, and that was still the score 2 minutes later when Herro made a 3 to begin what was a 10-0 run to end the half by the Heat.
The Pelicans' struggles have long continued without Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram and letting that one slip on Tuesday to the Nuggets was no exception. Then again, you can't do much if Nikola Jokic is burying game-winning jumpers like he once again did.
Despite two straight losses, the Pelicans have covered the last two as underdogs by at least seven points.
Prediction
I can see a dropoff with the Pelicans, but the fact that they're at home helps. But Minnesota is too stacked on the wings and the Pelicans won't have enough to counter. Timberwolves 115, Pelicans 105
Betting trends
Timberwolves are 5-1 ATS in the last six in New Orleans.
Over is 15-3 in the last 18 in New Orleans.
The over is 6-2 in Minnesota's last eight road games.
Timberwolves are 5-1 ATS in the last six in New Orleans.
Over is 15-3 in the last 18 in New Orleans.
The over is 6-2 in Minnesota's last eight road games.
Projected starting lineup
Timberwolves:
PG: D'Angelo Russell
SG: Anthony Edwards
SF: Jaden McDaniels
PF: Kyle Anderson
C: Naz Reid
Pelicans:
PG: CJ McCollum
SG: Trey Murphy III
SF: Herb Jones
PF: Jaxson Hayes
C: Jonas Valanciunas
Injury report
Timberwolves: Karl-Anthony Towns (calf, out), Rudy Gobert (groin, out)
Pelicans: Brandon Ingram (toe, doubtful), Zion Williamson (hamstring, out)
Timberwolves: Karl-Anthony Towns (calf, out), Rudy Gobert (groin, out)
Pelicans: Brandon Ingram (toe, doubtful), Zion Williamson (hamstring, out)
Statistical leaders
Timberwolves:
Points: Anthony Edwards -- 24.1
Rebounds: Rudy Gobert -- 11.5
Assists: D'Angelo Russell -- 6.2
Pelicans:
Points: Zion Williamson -- 26.0
Rebounds: Jonas Valanciunas -- 9.9
Assists: CJ McCollum -- 5.8
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this Minnesota Timberwolves - New Orleans Pelicans prediction, 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.
