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Toronto vs Minnesota Expert Prediction

Written by on February 9, 2016

While the Raptors are enjoying arguably their best form of the season as we approach the All-Star Break, the Timberwolves (who’ve lost six of their last eight games) can’t seem to catch a break from losing in the NBA. Like most teams in the league, though, playing at home is always a welcome relief for the ‘Wolves, something that could easily motivate them for a strong show this Wednesday. Kindly find a succinct online sportsbook odds preview of this matchup in the section below and don’t forget to check out our free NBA Picks at the end of this analysis. Here’s a recap of their previous encounter.

How to Bet on Toronto vs Minnesota and TV Info

When: Wednesday, February 10, 8 PM EST Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN TV: TSN / FSN Radio: WCCO 830 Stream Option: NBA.com

Why Bet on the Raptors

The Raptors (No. 2 in Eastern Conference Standings) are easily the hottest team in the East right now, having impressively won 14 of their last 15 games, including Monday’s 103-89 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Not even Andre Drummond’s highlight-reel shot from 80 feet in the third quarter was able to scare the Raptors, who started the fourth quarter on an 11-2 run—spearheaded by the trio of Kyle Lowry, Terrence Ross and DeMar DeRozan—to sink down the Pistons. On paper, the Raptors, who are allowing 97 points on 44.1 percent shooting while scoring 101.6 points on 44.7 percent shooting (including 37 percent from downtown) should be more than capable of handling the Timberwolves, who are scoring 100.1 points on 45.7 percent shooting while allowing 103.9 points on 46.5 percent shooting. After all, Lowry and Rozan are having great seasons in the offense, while Jonas Valanciunas and Cory Joseph are equally beaming with confidence in the defense. This should be a huge motivation to the Raptors, who’ve won 9 of their last 12 road games, to go for another road kill on Wednesday.

Why Bet on the Timberwolves

While it is evident that the Raptors are better than the Timberwolves in nearly all statistical categories, Minnesota can take solace in the fact that their young stars are progressively improving in their play in the team’s rebuilding agenda. Second year star Andrew Wiggins leads the team with an average of 20.7 points per game, rookie star Karl-Anthony Towns is having a stellar double-double season of 16.7 points and 10.1 rebounds in averages, while Zach LaVine and Gorgui Dieng are leading the team’s assists and rebounding categories, respectively. The Wolves also have a slight edge in free-throw shooting—79.4 percent compared to Toronto’s 78.5 percent—so if Wiggins and company can get to the free-throw line frequently, we could have a game in our hands. It doesn’t help much that the Timberwolves have lost 7 of their last 10 home games, but a lot of positivity can be taken from the fact that Minnesota is 2-2 SU and 3-1 ATS in its last four home games.

Raptors at Timberwolves NBA Picks and Predictions

While I am often a pro-underdog bettor, this is one of those games that the statistics and betting trends are so lopsided that it would be a mega risk to take the home team. I mean, the Raptors are not only 9-1 SU and 9-1 ATS in their last 10 road games against Minnesota, but they are also 9-1 SU and 8-2 ATS in their last 10 overall meetings against Minnesota, along with an emphatic 21- 6 ATS mark in their last 27 overall meetings. In terms of total picks, the total has gone UNDER in 8 of Toronto’s last 12 road games against Minnesota, and the UNDER is also 8-3 in Minnesota’s last 11 games overall games against Toronto. Keeping the above analysis and trends in mind, the on-fire Raptors should be the solid NBA picks for both the SU and ATS on Wednesday, with the game total looking to lean on the UNDER side. NBA Picks: Toronto for SU, Toronto for ATS, Game Total: UNDER.