Timberwolves vs. Rockets Pick
Will the Minnesota Timberwolves reward bettors tonight as an underdog at the Houston Rockets? Tip-off is at 9:30PM ET.
Who Oddsmakers Like: Houston. According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Rockets are listed as a 5-point favorite on the spread line. The total is set at 224 points. Houston opened as a 5.5-point fave, while the over-under has gone up from 222.
Who the Public Likes: Minnesota. As of Thursday afternoon, 67 percent of public bets have come in on the visiting Timberwolves.
Injury Report: Minnesota center Justin Patton is recovering from offseason foot surgery and is out indefinitely. For the Rockets, James Harden is probable tonight to return from a hamstring injury but will be on a minutes restriction. Troy Williams is questionable with a sprained MCL. Zhou Qi has been out the last two games with an elbow injury and his status is unknown for tonight. Gerald Green has been given a two-game suspension for an after-game incident earlier this week, but should be eligible to play tonight. Trevor Ariza was also handed a two-game suspension, but is also expected to play tonight. Nene is out indefinitely with a knee contusion.
Who the Trends Like: Minnesota is 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings in Houston and 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings overall. The over is 7-0 in the last seven games in Houston.
Who We Like: The Timberwolves had won five in a row before a mysterious loss at lowly Orlando. Expect the T-Wolves to get back to form here. Harden might be back, but he’ll play less than a full alottment of minutes and will draw the always-tough defense of Jimmy Butler. During the five-game win streak, Minnesota had outscored his opponents by an average of 18.8 points. Houston has not played since the tense 113-102 loss at the Clippers, where emotions boiled over post-game and several Rockets stormed into the LA locker room. Houston is only 5-8 in its last 13 games and I don’t even think Harden can save the day tonight.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES +4.5