Minnesota Timberwolves odds: 3 Wolves futures bets worth considering
By Nate Ackert
3 Minnesota Timberwolves futures bets: Timberwolves ‘over’ on win total
Timberwolves regular-season win total is set at 30
Per The Action Network, the Timberwolves’ over-under for regular-season wins is 30, meaning that betters can choose to bet that the Timberwolves will win more or less than 30 games, with winners getting an even return on their bet.
Bettors should remember that this season will be 72 games instead of 82 games, making the 30 wins equivalent to approximately 34.5 wins in a normal season.
The Timberwolves find themselves in yet another strong Western Conference this season, and their division is has been one of the strongest in the NBA in the last 5 years. The Wolves were the only team in the Northwest Division to miss the playoffs last season. However, it should be noted that the Oklahoma City Thunder will likely be worse this year given where they are at with their rebuilding process, so the Wolves’ in-division schedule will be somewhat easier than last season.
Getting to 30 wins is not asking a lot of the Timberwolves. In a normal season, a 34 or 35-win team will not sniff the playoffs. Yes, the Wolves will have a tough Western Conference schedule, but 30 wins wouldn’t be considered an accomplishment for this team by any means.
The Wolves also have plenty of incentive to win as many games as possible this season because they traded their 2021 first-round pick to the Golden State Warriors in the Andrew Wiggins-D’Angelo Russell trade, meaning that tanking is not in the best interest of the organization this season.
Beyond the makeup of their schedule, the Wolves should be a tough matchup for the bottom dwellers in the NBA, meaning they should be able to capitalize on most of their games against the league’s worst teams. With KAT anchoring the Wolves on both ends of the floor, much of the Wolves’ success this season will come down to their guard play. The Wolves have one of the deepest backcourts in the league, with Russell, Rubio, Edwards, Beasley, Okogie, and Culver all looking for minutes.
Depth will be especially important this season with the pandemic, as players around the league are likely to miss time due to the virus. The combo of KAT and guard depth will be difficult for the league’s weaker teams to cope with, particularly teams like OKC, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, San Antonio and Charlotte who lack a big that matches up well against KAT. If the Wolves’ backcourt can complement KAT well on both ends of the floor, the Wolves shouldn’t face many glaring problems in games they are favored in other than their defensive concerns.
On the flip side, the makeup of this Timberwolves roster certainly has the potential to match up well against some of the league’s best teams. As a team designed to surround Karl-Anthony Towns with shooting on the offensive end, the Wolves will have the potential on any given night to catch fire. As we saw in the Wolves’ first game after the 2020 trade deadline against the Clippers, the Wolves’ shooting gives them the capability to be a top-5 offense that can hang with anyone.
The challenge against the top teams in the league will be defense, but the Wolves shouldn’t have much to worry about on the other end of the floor on most nights.
Given how difficult of a matchup the Wolves will be for some of the worst teams in the league paired with the team’s ability to hang with most teams offensively, the Wolves’ roster undoubtedly has the ability to win 30 games. Of course, bettors need to consider other factors when evaluating potential wins, including injury risk, COVID-19 uncertainty, and coaching.
However, on paper, this Wolves roster is more than capable of winning thirty games. Over 30 wins is a strong bet at this point in time.