Philadelphia 76ers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction: Wolves to show their best

The Sixers have beaten the Timberwolves in 10 of their last 11 regular-season head-to-head encounters. The next game between Philadelphia and Minnesota should be particularly interesting because of the clash between the centers: Joel Embiid will face Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. Bookmakers believe the odds are about even – which team will emerge victorious?

The Sixers have played 8 games since James Harden's injury and have five wins during that stretch. For the most part, Joel Embiid's play helped make up for the absence of one of his stars, while Tyrese Maxey has suddenly gone downhill. Rumors recently surfaced about the possible trade of Tobias Harris, a deal that would probably benefit Philadelphia. Harris isn't very good on defense, causing the club to have to plug holes with players like Matisse Thybulle. On paper, the 76ers' bench seems long, but not everyone is in the rotation: Furkan Korkmaz and Montrezl Harrell, for example, don't get to the floor very often.

Doc Rivers' team spent last week's game against Milwaukee without Tobias Harris, and it's not certain he'll be back in action before the game against Minnesota. Tyrese Maxey is also out with an injury, and his status is unclear. Nevertheless, the Sixers beat the Bucks 110-102, with Maxey scoring 24 points in 21 minutes. Joel Embiid once again had a nice performance: 32 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 blocked shots. Georges Niang was worth mentioning again, scoring 4 three-pointers. Thanks in large part to Niang, Philadelphia made over 40% of their three-pointers, while De'Anthony Melton and Tyrese Maxey also made good shots.

The Timberwolves are slow to start the season, and that's likely due to the big roster changes they made this summer. It's not easy for Minnesota to build a game around two centers coming into the starting five. Anthony Edwards may have the most difficulty, as he needs the space underneath the basket that Rudy Gobert occupies. Edwards is adjusting slowly, but surely. He's scored 28+ points in 2 out of 3 games, although there have been some outright glitches.

But there are other problems. Despite having two big men, Minnesota is almost more likely to lose the battle on the boards, giving opponents more opportunities to attack. On defense, the Wolves have gradually climbed to No. 6 in interceptions, finally converting a large number of ball touches on defense.

Last game against Orlando, Chris Finch's men threw 16 interceptions, and that was a factor in their success. Edwards and Towns scored 35 and 30 points respectively, and Anthony made 7 three-pointers. Kyle Anderson, who came off the bench, did a good job on defense, with 3 steals and 2 blocked shots. Jaylen Nowell and Jaden McDaniels didn't have much going for them from beyond the arc, but they didn't need to, as Minnesota's lead over Orlando was already huge.

When Joel Embiid is on the court, it's not often that an opponent outweighs Philadelphia, but right now Minnesota should have that advantage. P.J. Tucker has failed in his half this season, and he'll have a particularly tough time against Towns, who can throw from distance. The Sixers' defense has only gotten stronger amid losses, but the same Thybulle is useless on offense, Tucker isn't particularly noticeable either, and Danuel House's offensive arsenal is very limited. The Timberwolves have no problems with their roster, and there are some good role players on the bench, so they should just get their 3rd win in a row. Our prediction for the Philadelphia vs Minnesota game is as follows:

• H2 (-1.5) for 1.71;
• TU (219.5) for 1.90;
• W2 by 21+ Points for 7.70.

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