The Minnesota Timberwolves (30-27) host the Charlotte Hornets (29-29) Tuesday at the Target Center for an 8 p.m. ET tip-off. Below, we look at the Hornets vs. Timberwolves odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Charlotte has dropped seven of its past eight games (2-6 against the spread (ATS)) including its latest outing Saturday when it fell 125-118 at home to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Minnesota stopped a two-game losing skid Super Bowl Sunday by beating the Pacers 129-120 in Indiana, covering as a 7.5-point favorite. The T-Wolves are 5-2 overall and ATS over the last two weeks.
Also see: Bet Slippin’ Podcast: NBA February 15 breakdown
Hornets at Timberwolves 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 3:05 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Hornets +200 (bet $100 to win $200) | Timberwolves -250 (bet $250 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Hornets +5.5 (-102) | Timberwolves -5.5 (-122)
- Over/Under: 243.5 (O: -112 | U: -108)
PLAY: Free, daily sports pick’em contests. Play now!
Hornets at Timberwolves key injuries
Hornets
- SF Gordon Hayward (ankle) out
- SG Cody Martin (Achilles) out
- SF Jalen McDaniels (ankle) out
Timberwolves
- None
Deposit $10 or more, get $100 in instant bet credits at Tipico Sportsbook! New customer offer in CO and NJ. 21+, see Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. Place your legal, online sports bets at Tipico. Let’s make this interesting. Bet now!
Hornets at Timberwolves odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Timberwolves 125, Hornets 112
Money line
PASS.
Minnesota should pummel Charlotte but the Timberwolves (-250) are out of my price range for an NBA regular-season money line favorite.
That said, this is a terrible matchup for the Hornets (+200). Perhaps Charlotte’s backcourt has an edge over Minnesota’s but the Hornets have cluster injuries on the wing so I give the T-Wolves a significant edge at the forward position.
Minnesota big Karl-Anthony Towns dominates Charlotte big Mason Plumlee and has played very well versus the Hornets. KAT is averaging 23.4 points on 53.1% shooting with 11.6 rebounds in 16 career games against Plumlee.
Towns is also putting up 24.0 points per game (PPG) on 60.7% true shooting (.507/.385/.822) with 12.0 rebounds and a plus-12 net rating in 12 career games versus Charlotte. Plus the Hornets allow the most PPG and rebounds per game to opposing centers.
The Hornets also don’t have a lot of rim protection outside of Plumlee. KAT’s ability to knock down 3s will pull Plumlee out of the paint and open up driving lanes for T-Wolves SG D’Angelo Russell and wing Anthony Edwards.
Against the spread
BET the TIMBERWOLVES -5.5 (-122) for 1 unit based on the prior analysis and because the oddsmakers had the right idea with their original line. The look-ahead had the T-Wolves favored 8 points but bettors backing the Hornets early caused sportsbooks to lower Minnesota’s spread.
The T-Wolves are 5-0 ATS in their last five home games, 6-1 ATS in their last seven games as favorites and 4-2 ATS when laying 5-7 points. While the Hornets are 0-4 ATS in their last four as underdogs and 4-6 ATS when spotted 5-7 points.
BET the TIMBERWOLVES -5.5 (-122) for 1 unit.
Over/Under
“LEAN” to the UNDER 243.5 (-108) for a one-third unit only because it feels square to bet the Under on the highest total on Tuesday’s NBA slate.
Especially when you consider that both teams play at a top-4 pace and a bottom-10 defensive effective field goal percentage ranked 20th or worse.
However, over the past two weeks, Charlotte is 25th in offensive rating and the Hornets have gone Under the total in their last four games as road underdogs.
Lastly, an Over wager is in serious jeopardy if either team has a terrible offensive quarter.
Bet legally online with a trusted partner: Tipico Sportsbook, Sportsbook Wire’s official sportsbook partner in CO, NJ and, soon, IA. Bet now!
If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow Geoff Clark on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Additional NBA sports coverage:
HoopsHype | Celtics Wire | LeBron Wire | Lonzo Wire | Nets Wire | Rockets Wire | Sixers Wire | Thunder Wire | Warriors Wire | Rookie Wire | List Wire
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1622]