Grizzlies vs. Timberwolves Betting Preview January 27: Bet Minnesota With Memphis At End Of Trip (Archive)
NBA Pick: Timberwolves +4 (-110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
The Memphis Grizzlies are on a season-high four-game losing streak as they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday to close a five-game road trip.
Which side of the 4-point Spread has the best value against the NBA odds at the top-rated online books? Read ahead as we also have a Total play as well.
Remember, fans from the Volunteer State or the Land of 10,000 Lakes who are looking to make a wager on this game should be sure to check out our top-rated Tennessee and Minnesota betting sites.
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
Friday, January 27, 2023 – 07:30 PM EST at Target Center
NBA TV has a doubleheader on Friday night with Grizzlies at Timberwolves as the opener, followed by the Raptors at Warriors.
Memphis beat Minnesota in six games in the first round of last season’s playoffs, and it’s not out of the question they meet again.
The Grizzlies are going to finish in the Top 4 of the West at worst, while the Wolves would currently be in the NBA Play-in tournament.
Friday is the third of four regular-season meetings. They have split the first two, each winning at home early on.
The game in the Twin Cities was on Nov. 30, and the Wolves won 109-101 behind 29 points, five steals, and three blocks from Anthony Edwards. Karl-Anthony Towns was out.
Jaylen Nowell added a season-high 24 points and D'Angelo Russell had 15 points and 10 assists for the Timberwolves, who forced a season-high 27 turnovers by the Grizzlies. Ja Morant scored 24 points but had seven turnovers, and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 16 points and 11 rebounds in the loss for Memphis. Desmond Bane was out.
Minnesota leads the all-time series 52-51 and is 31-21 at home.
Memphis is 19-8 ATS on the NBA picks in the past 27 meetings.
Won Fading Memphis Wednesday
We look to go 4-0 on Grizzlies picks this week as we faded them at Golden State on Wednesday night at BMR and recommended Under a huge total of 245 points.
Memphis lost 122-120 on a layup by Jordan Poole with just a second remaining.
Probably not a game the Grizzlies should have lost considering the Warriors scratched All-Star Andrew Wiggins beforehand with a non-COVID illness, and Steph Curry was ejected with 1:14 remaining after throwing his mouthpiece in anger in the crowd.
Curry surely would have been taking the last shot and not Poole.
Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant was back after missing a game with an ankle injury and looked just fine with 29 points, 12 assists, and four rebounds in 35 minutes. Desmond Bane had 20 points and a team-best plus-nine rating.
If Coach Taylor Jenkins simply had not played reserve Ziaire Williams, Memphis probably would have won. He was 1-for-7 from the field, 0-for-6 from deep, and a whopping minus-19 in 24 minutes.
Jenkins didn’t have much choice, though, as starting center Steven Adams and reserve John Konchar were both out.
Memphis Banged Up
Adams, the NBA’s No. 4 overall rebounder (11.5) and No. 1 on the offensive boards, will miss 3-5 weeks with a PCL sprain in his right knee.
It’s not a coincidence that Memphis was outrebounded by a small Golden State team 44-36 overall and 14-11 on the offensive boards.
The Grizzlies had been starting Xavier Tillman in place of Adams in the past when out, but Brandon Clarke got the call Wednesday. Clarke had 19 points and eight rebounds and the tying dunk with 6.3 seconds left before Poole’s heroics.
Konchar is in the league’s concussion protocols and is day-to-day. He averages 6.3 points and 4.9 rebounds in about 23 minutes per night. The Grizzlies are 1-4 ATS in their past five games.
KAT Still Not Close To Playing
Minnesota All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns (20.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg) hasn’t played since Nov. 28 due to a calf injury and isn’t close to a return. The team is a reasonable 15-14 without him compared to 2-6 last season when he was out.
One big difference this year: The presence of fellow All-Star big man Rudy Gobert.
In Wednesday’s minor 111-102 upset win in New Orleans, Gobert had 17 points and 12 rebounds, his second double-double in as many games and 18th on the season.
The three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year is third in the NBA in rebounding (11.5 rpg) but a +10000 long shot to win the defensive award a fourth time.
The Ant-Man is Playing Big
Former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards has really raised his game in his third season, averaging career highs in scoring (24.5 ppg), rebounding (6.0 rpg), and assist (4.5 apg), and deserves All-Star consideration.
He had 37 points, six rebounds, and five assists in Wednesday’s win, his third straight game of at least 31 points. No Towns means more shots for Edwards.
The Timberwolves are one of the worst third-quarter teams in the NBA, but they used a 15-0 run during a five-minute stretch of the third Wednesday to take control vs. New Orleans. At the end of that spurt, the Wolves led 75-61. Minnesota still has a net rating of minus 7.2 in third quarters this season.
Clearly, 110 is a magic number as the Timberwolves are now 22-14 when scoring that many and 3-11 when they don’t.
When allowing at least 110 points, the team is 10-22 compared to 15-3 when not. Memphis averages 117.1 ppg and allows 112.6.
The Timberwolves are 6-2 ATS in their past eight at home. This is the end of a five-game trip for Memphis, so we like the points in a relatively high-scoring game – just not 237.5 points high scoring.
The Under is 4-0 in Memphis’ past four and in Minnesota’s past four vs. teams with a winning record.
NBA Pick: Under 237.5 (-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.