NBA: Toronto Raptors VS Minnesota Timberwolves Pick and Predictions 01/19/2023

Game: 8:10 PM ET,  Thursday, January 19th, 2023

Venue: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

TV:  NBA League Pass

Raptors: 20-25, 11th place Eastern Conference

T-Wolves: 22-23, 9th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Celtics -6.5, O/U 240.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Celtics -6.5, O/U 240.5

Fanduel: Point Spread: Celtics -6.5, O/U 240.5

Raptors: SF OG Anunoby, PF Scottie Barnes, C Pascal Siakam, PG Fred Van Vleet, SG Gary Trent JR.

T-Wolves: PF Jaden MCDaniels, SF Kyle Anderson, C Rudy Gobert, PG D’Angelo Russell, SG Anthony Edwards

An NBA matchup between two teams that are both better on paper than they are on the court… and both need a HUGE trade at or near the trade deadline in order to rescue this season… and maybe to rescue future seasons.  The problem of course is that both teams have starting tandems of good to possibly great guards… Yet the league is stuffed with quality guards or guards with tons of potential.  So?... Trade a big man?.. The Raptors don’t really have a big man.. They fill the post with undersized power forwards playing out of position.  The Timberwolves have two quality Centers but the one they would really want to trade (Karl Anthony Towns) is out with a calf injury INDEFINITELY.  Maybe the team has him slotted to return to the court right before the deadline?… but as of now they have not told anybody.  The Great Betting Opportunity here will be all about recent trends and injury lists.

The Toronto Raptors have won 5 of their last 10 games (with one against Denver before this one).  They are 5-5 ATS during that 10 game run.  They are firmly in 11th place in the East and that is very terrible when you consider how many guys they have that can put up really wonderful statlines… Siakam, Anunoby, Barnes, VanVleet, Trent Jr… They have tons of talent that is completely unbalanced and does not play well together.  They lost their last game to the Milwaukee Bucks 130-122… a sad loss ATS. Made much more unfortunate when you know that PF Giannis Antetokounmpo did not play because of soreness in his knee.  In the loss PG Fred VanVleet went off for 39 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists, Gary Trent JR plowed ahead for 28 points, and Siakam chipped in 23 points… Those 3 guys could not land a win while having big games because the bench and 2 other starters were mostly invisible all night long. Also the club is already playing on an 8 man rotation… That is usually a playoff rotation… not a bleak January rotation.  A big decision needs to be made and it needs to be made soon… Is this team going to be put in the hands of Scottie Barnes? the young superstar in the making that should be p[laying point guard?... Or will they stick with Fred Van Vleet and a bench full of 6’8 power forwards that must make up for not having any actual NBA ready Centers?

The Minnesota Timberwolves have won 7 of their last 10 games.  However they lost the last one to the Utah Jazz, a loss ATS (as predicted here) The Wolves were favored by -4.5.  In the loss C Rudy Gobert injured himself and wound up with only 2 points and 1 rebound in 5 minutes of play.  SG Anthony Edwards poured in 29 points with 4 rebounds and 5 assists.  DeAngelo Russell had 21 points… and the great big disappointment would have to be PF Jaden McDaniels who had 5 points in 20 minutes but missed a very large percentage of his shots and was committing a drunken sailor amount of fouls. To make matters worse… The Utah Jazz were playing without SF Lauri Markkanen… but still managed to get all 7 of their top rotation players into double figures.   

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The Raptors are 22nd in scoring with 112.2 points per game, 20th in rebounds with 42.6 per game, 2nd in AST/TO ratio with 1.9, and 8th in blocked shots with 5.2 per game.

The Timberwolves are 12th in scoring with 115.0 points per game, 26th in rebounds with 41.5 per game, 25th in AST/TO ratio with 1.6, and 7th in blocked shots with 5.2 per game.

Our prediction for Thursday, January 19th is…. Raptors 118 - T-Wolves 111

Bet on the Raptors.  The Wolves will be playing with multiple big men on the injury list and they will have just taken a loss form the Nuggets. (The game has not happened yet, but who beats the Joker without any actual Centers available?).  Plus the Raptors will have spent the last 2 seasons preparing to win games without having their own Center. 

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Toronto is 33-17 ATS versus Minnesota since 1996.
Toronto is 2-0 ATS versus Minny at Minny the last 3 seasons.

Raptors: SF/PF/PG Scottie Barnes.  The crux of the problem in Toronto is they are playing both Siakam and Barnes out of position to make up for the lack of a true Center. Barnes would be best suited to bring his 2-way excellence and stat stuffing ability to the point guard spot.  At 6’8 he is among the generation of big, skilled players with guard skills like Josh Giddey and  Tyrese Haliburton. They should play him like they know his potential.

Timberwolves:  PG De’Angelo Russell.  Russell is a guard who can torch anyone for lots of points… He can also skip out on defensive assignments and hitting the open man.  He and his childhood friend Karl Anthony Towns should be moved out.  The team is not living up to the loads of talent they have… quick like a band aid.

Raptors: Nick “remember my hat” Nurse

T-Wolves: Chris “we regressed with More talent this season.” Finch