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Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves: Both teams are coming off wins
The Minnesota Timberwolves are hosting the Los Angeles Lakers today at Target Center.
The Lakers are on a road trip
The Los Angeles Lakers are sixth in the Western Conference with a 12-8 record, including 5-5 on the road. They have won two of the last three games and are coming off a 105-104 win over the Utah Jazz. The Lakers are ninth in the league shooting 47.9% from the field and are ranked 13th scoring 113 points per game. Anthony Davis leads the team averaging 28.4 points and 11.6 rebounds per game.
The Wolves are struggling
The Minnesota Timberwolves are 11th in the Western Conference with a 9-10 record, including 6-4 at home. The Timberwolves are coming off a 93-92 win over the Los Angeles Clippers that ended their four-game losing streak. The Timberwolves are 11th in the league shooting 37.1% shooting from deep and 19th averaging 111.2 points per game. Anthony Edwards leads the team with 27.7 points per game.
Betting Trends
The Timberwolves are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games overall, 12-2 SU in their last 14 home games against the Lakers, and 8-2 SU in their last 10 games against teams from the Pacific Division. They are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall, 0-5 ATS in their last 5 home games, and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games against teams from the Western Conference. Minnesota has played under the total point line in 4 of their last 5 games overall, 14 of their last 20 games against the Lakers, and 5 of their last 6 games played on Monday. The Lakers are 8-4 SU in their last 12 games overall, and 4-1 SU in their last 5 games on the road. They are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games overall, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against Minnesota and 4-8 ATS in their last 12 games in December. Los Angeles has played under the total point line in their last 5 games overall, 6 of their last 7 games against teams from the Western Conference, and 5 of their last 6 games against teams from the Northwestern Division.
Prediction and Conclusion
The Minnesota Timberwolves made a lot of noise last season, making it to the Western Conference finals, but this year things are not going well at all. They decided to trade Karl-Anthony Towns in the offseason, and it seems like they are still looking for their new identity. Winning only three of the last ten games is not the way they want to go, and currently, the Wolves are in the bottom third of the conference. The Lakers are also underachieving but are definitely in better form than the Timberwolves. These two have split the last six head-to-head games, and this one can easily go either way, so given the spread, we go with the Lakers to cover the +6.5-point spread.
