NBA Basketball: Charlotte Hornets VS Minnesota Timberwolves Pick and Predictions 02/24/2023

Game: 8:10 PM ET,  Friday, February 24th, 2023

Venue:  Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

TV:  NBA League Pass

Hornets: 17-43, 14th place Eastern Conference

Timberwolves: 31-30, 8th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread: N/A

PointsBet: Point Spread:  T-Wolves -8, O/U 233

Fanduel: Point Spread:  T-Wolves -7.5, O/U 232.5

Hornets: PG LaMelo Ball, SG Terry Rozier (DD), SF Gordon Hayward, PF PJ Washington, C Mark Williams

T-Wolves: PG Mike Conley, SG Anthony Edwards, SF Jaden McDaniels, PF Kyle Anderson, C Rudy Gobert

An NBA matchup between a truly bad team and a wildly average team with a great roster.  In the case of the Charlotte Hornets we can see why they are bad.  They have some offensive weapons in SG Jason Terry and PG LaMelo Ball (who missed tons of time with injury)... They have a good shooter in SF Gordon Hayward.  All three of those guys are below par when it comes to defense.  To round out the roster they have a rookie Center and a bounced around Power Forward who plays well here and there but teams always move off him or look to upgrade from him. There is no secret.  The Hornets are on the Victor Wembanyama hunt… Nothing else will make the horrible season, decade, two decades… any better but that prize. If they miss out.  It won’t be anything new for Charlotte pro basketball.  The Minnesota Timberwolves have a wonderful roster… so wonderful they moved some pieces at the trade deadline to make room for a more focused attack.  They have Sg Anthony Edwards who should be ready to be a multiple time all-star in the years to come.  The defensive Master C Rudy Gobert, who came over from Utah in a HUGE trade that has yet to make a dent in the w/l column.  They have PF/C Karl Anthony Towns who does not play because of injury.  They recently added PG Mike Conley (again from Utah) in the hopes of truly focusing the attack.  They need to win and win now because they moved all the picks that would help them grow from here.  The great betting opportunity here is in finding out how capable the Hornets will be in covering spreads since the return of LaMelo Ball.

The Charlotte Hornets have won only 3 of their last 10 games, BUT are on a 2-game winning streak.  They went 4-6 ATS during that run.  It is not a coincidence that their last 2 wins and last 2 wins ATS coincided with the return of LaMelo. They won their last game against the San Antonio Spurs 120-110.  In the win they got 28 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assist from PG LaMelo Ball.  This is a team that absolutely does not need Scoot Henderson if they come close but do not win the Draft Lottery. They also got 22 points from PF PJ Washington. 5 other Hornets scored in double figures.  Offense they can DO if LaMelo stays healthy… Defense is the struggle… In the win SF Kelly Oubre JR, SG Terry Rozier, and PF Cody Martin got DNPs.. It was the game BEFORE the All-Star break, but still it signals the group on the trading block this summer regardless of what happens during the draft.  

The Minnesota Timberwolves have won 5 of their last 10 games.  They went 5-5 ATS during that run.  It is picture perfect performance for a team that hovers in the middle of the Western Conference pack just 1 game above .500 on the season.  In their ;ast game the lost to the Washington Wizards 114-106.  In the loss they got 34 points from SG Anthony Edwards and 17 points & 19 rebounds from C Rudy Gobert.  That is wonderful, but the supporting cast MUST have a bigger impact!  That is an absolute must!

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The Hornets are 23rd in scoring with 112.5 points per game, and 7th in rebounds with 44.9 per game.  On defense they rank 28th against scoring while allowing 118.9 points per game.  They are -6 points per game.  That alone is the stat that tells you they will not rise in the standings in the last 22 games of the season.

The T-Wolves are 10th in scoring with 115.7 points per game, and 26th in rebounds with 41.4 per game. On defense they rank 19th while allowing 115.8 points per game.

Our prediction for Friday, February 24th is…. T-Wolves 122 - Hornets 119

Bet on the Hornets.  You can expect a 6.5 - 7.5 spread in favor of the T-Wolves… but the T-Wolves aren’t killing it.  The T-wolves may win but take the points for your pocket.

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(will update)

Hornets:  SG Jason Terry.  Jason is literally the only player on the roster worth watching.  If the Hornets don’t win the NBA draft Lottery it will be a long cold winter… even in the summer.  Good luck Jason.. Too bad you weren’t traded at the deadline.

Timberwolves: SG Anthony Edwards.  He got some notice during the All-Star game when LeBron picked him first among the bench all-stars.  The former #1 pick should see this as a slap in the face… If he doesn’t then we have seen his ceiling.  The goals isn’t an all-star bench player that is patted on the back for 30 seconds on TV… The goal is to be the real deal in the NBA… The problem Anthony will have is that the draft classes behind him have supplied real franchise players while a new class is coming every year.  Do it now kid.

Blazers: Chauncey “all that smoke” Billups

Kings: Mike “I been everywhere man” Brown