For Friday’s Game 3 showdown between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns, you can find the latest NBA odds for this matchup on the top-rated sportsbooks.
For your best bet, I will recommend playing the Timberwolves.
And if you’re interested in wagering on other matchups like Knicks vs. 76ers and Timberwolves vs. Suns, check out our YouTube video.
NBA Best Bet: Timberwolves +4 (-110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Phoenix Suns
Friday, April 26, 2024 – 10:30 PM ET at Footprint Center
Minnesota’s Defense
Minnesota has worn out Phoenix by playing hard for four quarters, which is something that it did not do in the regular season when the Suns were winning games.
The Suns are having trouble later in games, such as when they mustered all of 42 points in the second half of Game 2 because they lack depth as a team and rely so heavily on three players, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Kevin Durant.
The Suns need great games from all three players, but Booker is hard to rely on because he consistently struggles when guarded by the lengthy Jaden McDaniels.
As also evident in two April regular season games, Booker struggles to be efficient against Minnesota primarily because of McDaniels, but also because Minnesota boasts other strong on-ball defenders, such as Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
An adage is that “defense travels.” Unlike shot-making, a team’s defensive quality does not decline on the road.
So expect Minnesota to continue to showcase its top-caliber defense, which ranked number one in defensive rating in the regular season and has held Phoenix to 95 and 93 points, respectively.
Scoring Balance
The thing about Minnesota’s offense is that it has so many scorers to rely on.
Anthony Edwards, who makes so many tough shots and has a great attitude for playoff basketball, is the main scorer and on-ball threat.
His first-ever playoff road game last year was a poor one, but he quickly learned to succeed in the hostile atmosphere and dropped 41 points in Game 2 in Denver.
Last game, he scored only 15 points, but Minnesota won because, especially aided by Phoenix’s poor interior defense, power forward McDaniels and center Rudy Gobert thrived inside.
Karl-Anthony Towns also didn’t even do much, but veteran shooting guard Mike Conley stepped up.
NBA Best Bet
Expect Minnesota to be more dangerous with better games from Towns and especially Edwards, who will bring a lot of energy on the court for the road team.
NBA Best Bet: Timberwolves +4 (-110) at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
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