Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Boston Celtics: Odds, injuries, what to watch for

The Minnesota Timberwolves return after a modest Christmas break to host the Boston Celtics in a battle of two teams rendered extremely short-handed due to COVID-19.

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Boston Celtics: Odds, injuries, what to watch for

The Minnesota Timberwolves recently won four straight games, including a pair of victories with the likes of Anthony Edwards and Patrick Beverley out due to COVID-19.

Then came two losses as the team became more and more short-handed, including Thursday’s loss to the Utah Jazz without Karl-Anthony Towns. Since then, the Wolves have added D’Angelo Russell and Naz Reid to the list and have learned that Edwards will remain out for Monday night’s game.

The Wolves should get back both Beverley and Josh Okogie from health and safety protocols in a step in the right direction for the roster, and veteran big man Greg Monroe will reportedly be a depth addition as well.

The Boston Celtics have a similar issue, with nine total players under health and safety protocols. Up until Monday, however, their stars had been largely unaffected, with mostly bench players landing on the list and missing time. But on Sunday it was announced that Jayson Tatum would miss Monday’s game in Minneapolis due to health and safety protocols.

The Celtics have basically been alternating wins and losses for quite some time and sit at 16-17 on the season while the Wolves are 15-17.

Minnesota Timberwolves odds vs. Boston Celtics

WynnBet has the Celtics as six-point favorites, which would have seemed more than reasonable with Tatum available and the Wolves without Towns, Russell, and Edwards, among others. But with no Tatum, the game being played at Target Center, and the Wolves with three days of rest, the line seems a bit high.

TV and streaming info for Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Boston Celtics

• Tip-off: 7:00 CT
• Television: Bally Sports North
• Radio: 830 WCCO
• Stream: Fubo.tv offers streaming options

What to watch for in Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Boston Celtics

The Wolves have their work cut out for them against Jaylen Brown and the Celtics on Monday night.

A lot hinges on whether or not Beverley and Okogie, who are both listed as questionable, are available to play. Without them, Jaden McDaniels is the Wolves’ only available plus defender on the perimeter. But with them, the Wolves should be in decent shape when it comes to defending Brown and the rest of the Tatum-less Celtics.

Boston is essentially a middle-of-the-pack rebounding team and in terms of 3-point attempts per game, although their efficiency isn’t anything to write home about. Brown is their best shooter, but otherwise, all of the Celtics’ plus long-distance shooters are unavailable.

Neither of these squads will look anything like the teams that their respective head coaches signed up to coach — or that the fans signed up to watch, for that matter. But the Celtics will have the best player on the floor in Brown while the Wolves will lean heavily on Malik Beasley once again to generate a significant portion of the offense missing with the Wolves’ Big Three unavailable.

Injury report for Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Boston Celtics

The Wolves are without Towns, Russell, Edwards, Vanderbilt, Prince, Reid, and Wright, all due to health and safety protocols. Okogie and Beverley are listed as questionable due to return to play conditioning.

The Celtics will be missing Tatum, Josh Richardson, Dennis Schroder, Aaron Nesmith, Enes Freedom, and Bruno Fernando for the same reason. Grant Williams is listed as questionable.

We’ll be back after the game with key takeaways. Enjoy hoops tonight, and here’s to 16-17!