The Minnesota Timberwolves (20-20) travel down to the Big Easy Tuesday for an 8 p.m. ET tip-off with the New Orleans Pelicans (14-26) at Smoothie King Center. Below, we look at the Timberwolves vs. Pelicans odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Minnesota won its fourth consecutive game Sunday (3-1 ATS) when the T-Wolves hammered the Houston Rockets 141-123 as 6.5-point favorites.
The T-Wolves are 4-3 straight-up (SU), 4-2-1 ATS and 4-3 O/U over the last two weeks with the seventh-best non-garbage time net rating at plus-7.1 points per 100 possessions, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG).
NOLA has lost four of its last six games (3-3 ATS) with the latest being a 105-101 loss at the Toronto Raptors but covered as a 7.5-point road underdog.
The Pelicans have the 23rd-ranked non-garbage time net rating at minus-5.7 points per 100 possessions in the last 14 days, per CTG.
The T-Wolves have won two of their three meetings with the Pelicans this season but New Orleans is 2-1 ATS in those contests and the Under has cashed in all three.
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Timberwolves at Pelicans odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:40 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Timberwolves -165 (bet $165 to win $100) | Pelicans +133 (bet $100 to win $133)
- Against the spread (ATS): Timberwolves -3.5 (-112) | Pelicans +3.5 (-108)
- Over/Under (O/U): 227.5 (O: -107 | U: -115)
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Timberwolves at Pelicans key injuries
Timberwolves
- PG Patrick Beverley (groin) questionable
Pelicans
- None.
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Timberwolves at Pelicans odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Pelicans 116, Timberwolves 113
Money line
PASS with a heavy “lean” towards the Pelicans (+133) because I like NOLA plus the points and generally will sprinkle on an underdog’s money line when betting them to cover the spread.
However, I’m holding out for a better payout for the Pelicans and we may get it if money keeps pouring in on the T-Wolves. New Orleans is 5-10 SU as a home underdog and Minnesota is 3-1 SU as a road favorite.
If the Pelicans’ money line gets steamed up to +150 or greater then I’d consider sprinkling on them outright and betting more on their spread. But, for now, PASS.
Against the spread
BET the PELICANS +3.5 (-108) because this number seems low given how well the T-Wolves have played entering this game and this is the healthiest NOLA team Minnesota has faced this season.
The Pelicans have covered in three of their past four meetings with the T-Wolves and are 8-4 ATS at home versus teams with a winning record.
On top of that, they have strength-on-weakness edges over Minnesota they can exploit in drawing fouls and transition basketball.
The Pelicans have the 10th-highest offensive FT/FGA rate while the T-Wolves have the worst defensive FT/FGA rate.
Both teams also get out in transition at a top-10 rate but NOLA’s offensive efficiency in the fastbreak ranks fifth while Minnesota’s ranks 26th.
Finally, according to Pregame.com, more than 90% of the cash wagered is on Minnesota. Which has steamed the T-Wolves up from a 2.5-point favorite to the current number. It seems like the market is falling for what I think is a trap line.
Over/Under
PASS.
Both teams have a bottom-10 offensive effective field goal percentage and a vast majority of the market is betting the Over yet the total has been lowered from the 228-point look-ahead total. The Under has also cashed in the last three Timberwolves-Pelicans meetings.
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