Timberwolves vs. Warriors Odds, Pick, Prediction | NBA Betting Preview

Timberwolves vs. Warriors Odds

The Golden State Warriors play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night at Chase Center and just a single loss separates these teams in the Western Conference playoff race.

The Warriors seem to be peaking at the right time once again. They won just their eighth and ninth road games of the season before defeating a James Harden-less 76ers team on Friday.

The Timberwolves, meanwhile, also seem to peaking at the right time, at least in terms of their health. Their most recent game saw Karl-Anthony Towns return to the court for the first time since November, and he played a pivotal role, knocking down what proved to be the winning free throws in the final seconds.

With the Warriors holding on for dear life to that all-important sixth seed, and the Timberwolves among many others nipping at their heels, neither team will need to be reminded of the significance of this contest.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Although Towns returned to the Minnesota lineup, the Timberwolves were still without Anthony Edwards. However, he may return for this contest, which means Minnesota could start:

Mike Conley
Anthony Edwards
Jaden McDaniels
Karl-Anthony Towns
Rudy Gobert

It's a pretty sexy lineup on paper, and one I think Conley does wonders for. He has freed up Gobert to contribute a lot more on the offensive end, and he takes fewer shots away from Edwards and Towns.

However, there are question marks on the defensive end, even with Gobert — the three-time Defensive Player of the Year — and McDaniels, the self-proclaimed best defensive player in the league.

This contrast of a strong offense and questionable defense is even more true early in games. The Wolves score the second-most points in the first quarter, which has led to a 43-31-0 record to the over in first quarters this season.

Golden State Warriors

Interestingly enough, the Warriors see a similar trend. They are a nearly identical 43-31-1 record to the over in the first 12:00, leaving both teams in the top five and with an ROI over 10% this season on first quarter overs.

Both teams have very strong starting lineups with somewhat questionable bench depth, so it's not surprising that both teams can fill it up at the start of games. These teams have played three times this season and the first quarter totals have been 74, 66 and 59. However, that last game came with the Warriors missing both Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

These are also two of the top three teams in pace, which should feed into itself in an exponential manner. Both teams are comfortable getting out and running.

Timberwolves-Warriors Pick

I like the over for the game as a whole, but I especially like targeting the first quarter. As noted above, these are two of the top teams to the first-quarter over this season.

They are also two of the top three teams in pace and there should plenty of possessions. However, as of this writing, there is no first quarter total and both Towns and Edwards are questionable. So, follow me in the Action Network app (@TurveyBets) to see which bets I make.

Lean: Over 235.5

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