Philadelphia 76ers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Spread, Line, Odds, Predictions, and Algorithm Picks from the SportsGrid Betting Model

What a night it should be in Minnesota as James Harden will make his debut with the Philadelphia 76ers as they continue their push for top seeding in the Eastern Conference.

As fun as Harden’s debut may seem, the model favors the Timberwolves as a five-star play on both the moneyline and the spread. Minnesota has a fair moneyline of -164 and an expected winning margin of 3.6 but is currently +124 and +3 on the FanDuel Sportsbook. It’s likely that plenty of public money is coming in on the highly-anticipated debut of Harden and that may be part of the issue.

Fans and bettors can often fall into the trap of the hype of a blockbuster trade or a team that is loaded with superstars. But it will almost certainly take Joel Embiid, James Harden, and the rest of the 76ers a fair amount of games and practices before things begin to click with so many new pieces. As for Minnesota, they have quietly won eight of their last 11 games and have also notched victories in eight of their last nine at home. The T-Wolves seem to have a legitimate home court, they are hosting a team with plenty of moving parts, and have been hot since the beginning of the month. We certainly agree with the model and see the non-analytic angle to be further backing the Timberwolves in this spot.

When looking at the total, it’s another five-star play towards the under for the model we’re likely seeing a bit of overinflation here due to Minnesota’s involvement. The Timberwolves have gone over in a league-leading 60 percent of the games this season and with a projected total of just 221.5, our model sees this number as far too high, especially against a Philadelphia defense that ranks seventh in points per game allowed. Back the under as well as the Timberwolves in what should be a tight one out in Minnesota.

All NBA predictions and picks are courtesy of SportsGrid.