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The only NBA game of the day will see the Minnesota Timberwolves host playoff hopeful Portland Trailblazers at Target Center.
Minnesota (30-45, 19-20 home) has missed on the chance to make the playoffs in the West and once that became clear a few weeks ago, they started playing worse and worse. Minny won 2 of the last 3 (agains the Pacers and the Lakers), but neither win was impressive and those were the only victories in the previous 9 matches. The Wolves are on the back of a horrible home loss against Sacramento, arguably the worst team in the league.
The Blazers (38-38, 16-23 away) looked like they won`t make the playoffs for a while earlier in the season, but they have found their groove at the right time and are currently riding an amazing run of 9 wins in the last 10 matches – including 6 in a row. The recent success allowed Portland to climb to the 8th place in the West and they are now 2 games in front of Denver for that last playoff spot.
Bet on Wolves vs. Blazers and claim your 100% (100 Eur) free bet at Ohmbet now!Team news: The Blazers will miss Jusuf Nurkic, who has been an important part of their improvement since getting traded from Denver, and this is the reason why the bookies rated Minny as the favorites here.
The two teams are in completely opposite situations right now. While the Blazers are desperate to maintain the last playoff spot and are playing their best basketball of the season, Minnesota has nothing left to fight for and wouldn`t mind losing some more games in order to get a higher draft pick. Their lack of intensity has been obvious in the last 10 games or so.
Minny is definitely a very talented team, but their youth did not allow them to make a realistic push for the playoffs and they haven`t been as good as they were expected to be this season. Lately, they really don`t seem to have that edge needed to win games consistently in the NBA.
Portland is balling, they are desperate to win games and have found their “A game” in the last two weeks or so. Nurkic’s absence will be a big blow, but I doubt it will be enough to stop these improving Blazers, who managed to win without him last time out against the Suns. Lillard and McCollum are still the key guys in this team and they are on a tear these days.
Not lastly, there`s a fair case to be made that Portland matches up well against Minnesota. Portland won both meetings this season: 95 – 89 in Minnesota on January 1st and 112 – 110 at home just one week ago. Overall, Portland won 6 of the last 7 against Minnesota.
Portland is also not a bad road team at all, so I can see them taking care of Minnesota here. They are playing better and with more intensity and that should be enough against this out of form Minny side. Given the fact that Minnesota is often involved in close games when they are winning, and 2 of their last 4 wins were by 1 point, I reckon the +2 handicap on Portland is a nice safety net.
My tip is Portland to cover the 2 point spread. Odds on the bet are dropping. Prediction: Minnesota Timberwolves – Portland Trailblazers 112 – 117.
Pick: Trailblazers +2
Odds: 1.93 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.44
Event date: 3 April
