Minnesota Timberwolves vs Toronto Raptors: Odds, Injuries
The league-worst 7-22 Minnesota Timberwolves are taking on the Toronto Raptors in Minneapolis tonight at 8 p.m. CT.
The Minnesota Timberwolves will try to shake off an overtime loss against the Indiana Pacers a few days ago as they go up against a Toronto Raptors team that is 7-3 in their last ten games.
The Timberwolves, 7-22, are currently eight games out from the 8th-seeded Denver Nuggets, and six games behind the Dallas Mavericks for the ten seed – which is what they would need in order to be included in a play-in game.
The 14-15 Raptors are 6th in the Eastern Conference, in part due to their recent hot streak of games. The Timberwolves did, however, beat Toronto on Valentine’s Day, less than a week ago.
Minnesota Timberwolves odds vs Toronto Raptors
The Minnesota Timberwolves are 2.5-point underdogs to the Toronto Raptors on Friday, with 51-percent of the public betting against the Wolves. This seems about right given the Raptors recent hot streak – even if they did lose to Minnesota just days ago.
What to watch for in Minnesota Timberwolves vs Toronto Raptors
Karl-Anthony Towns will be the reason that the Timberwolves win tonight, should it happen. The Raptors don’t have anyone in their frontcourt that can defend Towns capably, with Chris Boucher and Aron Baynes being their best options.
The Raptors have one of the best defensive backcourts in the NBA in Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet, so getting either Malik Beasley or Anthony Edwards going early will be crucial, as well. While, yes, Pascal Siakam has struggled this year offensively – he is still a threat in terms of what he could do to the Timberwolves – especially with what seems to be a rotational door at power forward.
Minnesota coach Ryan Saunders has struggled this year (well, that’s an understatement). If he can make even slightly-below-average adjustments and rotations tonight, the Timberwolves should be in a position to win. That said, even that underperforming-level of coaching from Saunders seems more than unlikely.
Injury report for Minnesota Timberwolves vs Toronto Raptors
Timberwolves:
Jarrett Culver (ankle) – OUT
D’Angelo Russell (knee) – OUT
Raptors:
Kyle Lowry (thumb) – QUESTIONABLE
Patrick McCaw (knee) – PROBABLE
Next. The Timberwolves' starting lineup of the future. dark
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