NBA: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Indiana Pacers Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Indiana Pacers meet this Sunday. There won’t be too many games today, meaning that all the eyes of the NBA fans will be pointed towards this clash. The T-Wolves are closing one very tough stretch tonight, during which they had a pretty nasty schedule. On the other side, the Pacers are presenting several new guys to its fans. They were active during the trade block, making a few massive deals, one of them sending their top star, Domantas Sabonis, to Sacramento. We’ll see whether this move works out well for the team from Indianapolis.

Preview

Minnesota Timberwolves (29-27, -265) are seventh in the West, on the verge of the playoff zone. This is a huge improvement for the Wolves who were at the bottom of the conference over the last few years. They are coming into this event after back-to-back defeats in Sacramento and Chicago, yet we need to say that four of the past five events they had were on the road.

The T-Wolves play efficient and high-scoring games, and it is no wonder seeing them or the rival scoring 130 or more points. Simply, their focus is on the offense, and don’t care too much about the defensive effort. Minnesota lost in Chicago in the most recent clash, 134-122, slowing down in the final period and allowing 42 buckets.

Anthony Edwards scored 31 points, had eight assists and six boards. KAT was flirting with the triple-double with 27 points, eight boards and eight assists, while D’Angelo Russell dropped 18 buckets.

Indiana Pacers (19-38, +210) lost the last five games, but the focus of the players and the entire organization at the time was on the trade block. For sure, Rick Carlisle will now implement an entirely new philosophy of play after Sabonis’ departure, with an accent on fast backcourt players.

The Cavs defeated Indiana two nights ago, 120-113, demolishing them in the final period, 32-17, while erasing the deficit and flipping the result. Once more, we’ve seen the Pacers confused once needing to close the match.

Tyrese Haliburton, the new addition from Sacramento, scored 23 points and had a team-high for the Pacers in this event. Chris Duarte scored 18, while Buddy Hield played a good game as a starter, 16 points, nine boards and eight assists. These three have drained 12 threes combined. Oshea Brissett posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Head to Head

The Timberwolves squeezed out a win in the first event, 100-98, that took place at the Target Center in Minneapolis. KAT had 32 points and eight rebounds, Edwards added 21, while Russell had the same number of points, plus 11 assists. Sabonis delivered a triple-double on the other side, 15 points, 25 boards, and 10 assists, while Brogdon scored a team-high 25 buckets.

Prediction

The line for the total number of points is 236, and this one should go Over that limit. The Timberwolves’ games are usually above that limit, and they now have the perfect rival for repeating that. Indiana’s players are mostly offensive-minded, especially now with Hield and Haliburton in the lineup, so our pick here is over.

Pick: Over 236 points