by Chuck Sommers
Monday, Jan 16, 2023
Time: 4 p.m. ET
Venue: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Where to watch: BSN, ATTSN-RM
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: T’Wolves -2.5
FanDuel: T’Wolves -2.5
BetMGM: T’Wolves -2.5
Caesars: NL
Season record
Jazz: 22-24
Timberwolves: 22-22
We’re nearing the halfway mark of the season in the NBA and it’s been quite the ride so far. Al McMordie is cashing hard at 22-15-0 in the last 30 days, while Doc’s Sports has also had a strong run of form as of late at 14-10-0 (+$3,000). If they’ve been killing it as much as they were in the first half, what does the second half have in store? The only way you’re going to find out is by staying locked on bigal.com and following what our champion handicappers are up to heading into the final 41 games. Trust us, you want to know.
Jazz - Timberwolves preview, prediction and analysis
Recent form
Jazz: lost 118-117 vs. 76ers
Timberwolves: won 110-102 vs. Cavaliers
Never a dull moment when players face their old teams, but the Rudy Gobert revenge game will once again be in effect — maybe — when the Utah Jazz visit the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on Monday.
Gobert is questionable with a groin injury, so perhaps that might not play out the way they expect, but the red-hot Timberwolves will look to keep things up with or without their big man. Minnesota has won six of seven and are coming off a 110-102 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. The much-anticipated duel between former Utah teammates Donovan Mitchell and Gobert lasted only 13 minutes before Gobert exited, but Anthony Edwards led the way with 26 points in the win.
Naz Reid contributed with 17 points off the bench, and Jaylen Nowell had 16 off the pine as well as the only three players to score in double figures for Minnesota.
“I thought Naz really came alive in that second half,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “I thought he played well all game, but he really stepped up in Rudy’s absence, gave us some emotional play as well with the big dunks.”
The Timberwolves are, at the moment, Edwards’ team. With Karl-Anthony Towns still out and dealing with calf injury that will keep him out indefinitely, the Timberwolves are going through their young star and it seems to be working. Minnesota has covered in five of their last seven; the Wolves were 4.5-point underdogs against Cleveland.
“Put the ball in the rim. If I’ve got to put them in the rim, they've got to go in the rim, too,” Reid said. “The mentality is to win, so if that's what I've got to do to win, that's what I'm going to do.”
The Jazz have cooled off significantly from their red-hot start, but are still hovering around a playoff spot at ninth in the West. Utah is coming off a 118-117 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers but wound up covering as 7-point underdogs to Joel Embiid and James Harden. Embiid hit the game-winning shot with 5.7 seconds remaining.
Jordan Clarkson had a game-high 38 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Talen Horton-Tucker had 20 off the bench to help pace Utah, but the biggest problem was the Jazz shooting 12 of 40 from 3-point range. That, and Laurk Markkanen (hip contusion) didn’t play.
“We ain’t scared of the moment, I can tell you that,” Clarkson said after scoring 17 in the fourth quarter. “We have been in close games the whole year. We fight, we scrap.”
While Utah has found the winning touch as of late, the spread has been different. Utah has covered in three of its last four games after going 2-4 in the previous six. Being ninth in the West is still greater than any expectations laid out prior, even if Utah is 3-7 in its last 10.
“I think our team showed a lot of fight again, as we always do, executed some things really, really well as the game went on,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said.
Prediction
You’d like to have Gobert for this game, but I honestly don’t know if that’s something that can happen off a quick turnaround. He’s questionable for this game. I do wonder what happens with Edwards and can he break down the Utah defense that way. I see the home team coming away with this one. Timberwolves 112, Jazz 103
Betting trends
Jazz are 19-8 ATS after 3 straight non-conference games the last 3 seasons.
Jazz are 69-43 ATS after 4 straight games of outrebounding the opponent by 5 or more since 1996.
Timberwolves are 24-13 ATS against division opponents the past 3 seasons.
Timberwolves are 8-10 ATS after a game they covered this season.
Projected starting lineup
Jazz:
PG: Mike Conley
SG: Jordan Clarkson
SF: Malik Beasley
PF: Jarred Vanderbilt
C: Walker Kessler
Timberwolves:
PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Anthony Edwards
SF: Jaden McDaniels
PF: Kyle Anderson
C: Rudy Gobert
Injury report
Jazz: Lauri Markkanen (hip, questionable), Kelly Olynyk (ankle, out)
Timberwolves: Karl-Anthony Towns (calf, out), Rudy Gobert (groin, questionable)
Statistical leaders
Jazz:
Points: Lauri Markkanen – 24.6
Rebounds: Lauri Markkanen – 8.6
Assists: Mike Conley – 7.5
Timberwolves:
Points: Anthony Edwards – 23.8
Rebounds: Rudy Gobert – 11.8
Assists: D’Angelo Russell – 6.2
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this Utah Jazz - Minnesota Timberwolves 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.
