NBA: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Dallas Mavericks Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavs square off Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center. Both teams have a lot of problems with injuries and lack superstars. On one side, the T-Wolves won’t have Anthony Edwards, last year’s No.1 pick, while on the other, the Mavs are without Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. These units met two days ago back in Minneapolis, and the hosts secured a victory in that one. At the moment, the Timberwolves are 15-15, while the Mavs have a slightly worse record, 14-15.

Preview

Minnesota Timberwolves (15-15, -110) have four wins in a row, and they finally look like a playoff team. Now, it is up to them to decide will this be just a temporary spark or a new standard in their play. For sure, the T-Wolves have all the needed quality to reach one of eight seeds in the West.

They opened the winning streak against the Portland Trail Blazers and the Nuggets, both matches taking place on the road, before beating the Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks at home.

In that last game, we’ve seen KAT and D’Angelo Russell playing the central roles. Towns had 24 points, seven boards, and six assists, shooting free throws 11-for-13. Meanwhile, D-Lo scored 22 buckets with four threes, having only one turnover in 35 minutes. Jaylen Nowell came off the bench to score 16 points in 18 minutes, being a big factor in the win.

Dallas Mavericks (14-15, -105) experienced back-to-back losses. At first, they were defeated by the Lakers at home, 107-104 OT, and after that came the failure in Minneapolis.

The problem wasn’t losing the game at Target Center but Kristaps Porzingis’s injury. The big man from Latvia had to leave the floor due to a foot injury, and his health issues are already becoming major trouble for the Mavs. It seems that Porzingis doesn’t have what it takes to play more than two-thirds of the games in one season.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 28 points, having a team-high, with six assists and boards. Dorian Finney-Smith added 23 buckets, while Jalen Brunson dropped 18 with 11 assists. Until he played, Porzingis was doing just fine, having 13 points. The problem for the Mavs was very poor contribution off the bench, with five non-starters combining for 17 buckets.

Head to Head Games

The aforementioned contest in Minneapolis ended 111-105 for the home team. Both teams were pretty close in all the aspects of the game, with all the stats having almost identical results. It seems that the differences prevailed on T-Wolves’s side.

Prediction

The Mavericks are hosts, but on the other side, they are without both Luka, who has ankle issues and probably won’t play. According to the insiders close to the team, the chances of not seeing the young superstar are 90%. When we add that Porzingis won’t participate either, things are very close for the home side. On the other hand, the T-Wolves come without Edwards, but have D-Lo and KAT, which is why we bet on their victory.

Pick: Timberwolves win

Here is the preview of the Suns vs. Lakers game