Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction: Can the Wolves avenge their last loss against Lillard and co?

The NBA is on and this has been another spectacular season. Things are going to heat up as we head deeper and there is a high chance that we can see a bunch of trades as our devices will keep a tab on what Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski have to relay. Anyway, in this Regular Season game, the Portland Trail Blazers are going to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in an NBA Regular Season game.

Portland Trail Blazers

The Trail Blazers enter the affair after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 124:118 as Damian Lillard struck home 36 points. Lillard has scored 36, 40 in the last two games in what has been a great comeback after an injury that derailed his team. The Trail Blazers have won 14 and lost 12, winning three of their four games.

Apart from Lillard, Grant and Simons have been doing amazing things on the offensive end, making the Trail Blazers a tough squad both from the inside and outside. Portland has the third-slowest pace but they have developed a strong half-court offense. Their defense has been abysmal at times, however, there is a lot of potential to improve.

Minnesota Timberwolves

As stated above, the Wolves lost to the Trail Blazers in their last game despite a 26 points performance by Anthony Edwards. The loss halted a rhythm where the team had won three of the four games. The Wolves have been playing without Karl Anthony-Towns and their record of 13 wins and 13 losses doesn’t do justice to the talent on paper.

Rudy Gobert hasn’t had big returns and it looks like his game is on a bit of a decline. Not having Anthony-Towns has hurt the squad but the defensive end and the rebounding end need to take a leap if the team has to survive in the West. How can the Wolves turn around their season without Karl Anthony-Towns.

Injuries

• Trail Blazers: OUT: Nasir Little, Gary Payton II. PROBABLE: Drew Eubanks, Justise Winslow, Josh Hart;
• Timberwolves: OUT: Taurean Prince, Karl Anthony-Towns. DOUBTFUL: Jordan McLaughlin.

Player Props Prediction

• Expected Leading Scorers: Damian Lillard(31+ Points), Anthony Edwards(24-29 Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Rudy Gobert(14-19 Points), Jusuf Nurkic(10-13 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakers: Damian Lillard(8-11 Assists), D’Angelo Russell(6-9 Assists).

Expert Betting Tips

The Trail Blazers have been still searching for an identity for some time now but they hold a lot of promise. Their defense still remains a question mark, however, with Grant and Hart patrolling the area, there is a lot of scope for improvement. The Wolves have been a bit iffy but their team balance still looks promising but lacks the defensive discipline. However, I’d still back the Trail Blazers here and predict a 125:116 scoreline in favor of the Trail Blazers.