In the NBA, Minnesota at Portland looks to be a good game for sports bettors. The game will be played at 10:35 on April 9. The bookmakers have Portland at either minus 7.5 or minus 8.5. That’s looks like a tough edge, as the Trail Blazers, who are 3-0 in the series this season, have won the first three by 4.7 PPG. Portland is already in the playoffs, which start in about a week, while the Timberwolves don’t have a chance to make it into the postseason.
Minnesota at Portland Overview
Minnesota (27-52) is fifth in the Northwest Division, while Portland (43-37) is second. In their last five, the Wolves are 2-3, but they have won their last two. The Trail Blazers are 4-1, having won their last two. Over the course of those five games both teams beat Sacramento. Both clubs also played Golden State. The Timberwolves beat State in OT 124-117, while Portland lost 136-111. The big difference between the two clubs as far as stats go is in points for as the Trail Blazers are knocking down an average of 105.1 PPG, while Minnesota has been good for 101.8 PPG.
Essential Stats
The Minnesota at Portland contest comes down to two things- the accuracy and smarts of each team’s point guards and the ability of their front men to score and rebound. Wolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (18.2 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.68 BPG) is putting in .540 of his shots. Portland’s Mason Plumlee (9.1 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.01 BPG) doesn’t have the same point output as Towns, he’s not as good under the basket, and his .514 shooting percentage is inferior. This battle looks to go to the Wolves.
At point guard, Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio (10.3 PPG, 8.7 APG, 2.07 SPG) is a solid force and in many ways brings more to the court than Portland’s Damian Lillard (25.0 PPG, 6.8 APG, 0.85 SPG). Lillard scores more points per game, but Rubio looks better in other areas. From downtown, numerous Timberwolves are accurate more than 34% of the time, which is a good three points below the Blazers. However, Minnesota is better overall from the field, but just by a point.
The Edge – Minnesota at Portland
In the Minnesota at Portland game, the edge goes to the Timberwolves at -8.5. It’s true that Minnesota has nothing on the line, while the Trail Blazers have the chance to move up the NBA postseason food chain. But the Wolves have played well lately, and despite losing the first three to the Trail Blazers, they have managed to keep each loss relatively close.
In this contest take the Wolves. Special note- the best bet when it comes to the Minnesota at Portland game is the under at 215.5. The average total number of points scored in the first three contests between these two teams is 203.
