NBA: New Orleans Pelicans vs Minnesota Timberwolves Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Minnesota Timberwolves are on fire over the past four games, and they want to extend the winning streak beyond their match against the New Orleans Pelicans. It is a pity that we haven’t seen the T-Wolves playing like this since the start of the campaign. They would be genuine playoff contenders instead of having one of the worst records in the league. As for the Pels, the team from New Orleans had a promising start, but started slipping along the road. That’s why Zion and the boys find themselves far away from the play-in zone, let alone the top six seeds.

Preview

New Orleans Pelicans (28-35, -161) have subsequent wins and losses in the past six matches. During that period, they lost to the Nets, Spurs, and the Nuggets, while on the other side, defeated the Magic, Clippers, and OKC Thunder on Thursday night.

The match in OKC ended 109-95 for Stan Van Gundy’s side, and was pretty much decided already in the first quarter (31-20 for the Pels). New Orleans limited the hosts to just 38.2% of shooting from the field, and 28.2% from downtown, which was probably the reason why they routinely won this clash.

Zion Williamson ended the night with 27 points, 8 assists, and six boards, while Brandon Ingram dropped 24 points. Willy Hernangomez scored 13 with 10 boards, while Lonzo Ball missed all of his 8 three-pointers, concluding the night with 6 points, 10 boards, and 6 dimes.

Minnesota Timberwolves (20-44, +135) look superb, winning four in a row, six in the past eight. During this span, Wolves took down the Heat, Kungs, Jazz (twice in back-to-back games), Rockets, and the Warriors. As said in the opening, we are so sorry for not seeing these guys playing like this right from the start. They look awesome.

Against the Warriors, the T-Wolves won 126-114. Veteran Ricky Rubio led the way with 26 points and six boards and assists, while the No.1 pick from this draft, Anthony Edwards, scored one point fewer. Karl-Anthony Town was excellent as usual, with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists.

KAT is an anchor in the paint, and since he got back, the team has been much better at controlling the glass and the rim. For instance, Minnesota had 57 boards against the Warriors, who posted 34. We are aware that GSW isn’t some superb team when it comes to rebounding, but the Timberwolves weren’t dominant just in this match.

Head to Head

T-Wolves sliced New Orleans in both matches this year. The first one ended 120-110 (played in Minnesota), and the second in New Orleans, 135-105 for the guests. Jaylen Nowell had 28 points and Edwards 27 for the winners. Zion Williams had a team-high 24 points for the Pels.

Prediction

Imagine this, the handicap on the Timberwolves is -3.5, and the guests are the favorites. We are aware that the Pelicans are positioned higher on the standings, but on the other side, their inconsistency is something that worries us. Meanwhile, Minnesota looks good, as if they finally enjoy while playing. KAT, Edwards, Russell, and the rest of the crew are flying all over the place. We would take the risk here and bet on them with the spread.