76ers-Timberwolves Preview: Minnesota Handed a Gift

We’ll tune into TNT tonight as the Philadelphia 76ers will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in front of a national audience. The Sixers are 42-22 and third in the Eastern Conference among the upper echelon. With the 34-32 Wolves sixth in the West’s tightly compacted standings, there is little margin for error if they want to avoid the play-in tournament.76ers @ Timberwolves Game Information

• Location: Target Center | Minneapolis, MN
• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET | TV: TNT

Minnesota is in contention as they await the return of Karl-Anthony Towns, who is expected back in a few weeks. The T-Wolves will look to carry over a recent three-game winning streak on the road to their building as they stay above the Western Conference pack.

Philly has shown a lot of late to give basketball fans confidence in their ability to finally put together a deep playoff run. Joel Embiid has the best-supporting cast as a Sixer, and they’ve been on a 30-10 roll since they started the season 12-12. 

• Spread: 76ers -2 (-110) | Timberwolves +2 (-110)
• Moneyline: 76ers (-132) | Timberwolves (+112)
• Total: OVER 229 (-110) | UNDER 229 (-110)

The Sixers are the far superior team, as Embiid and James Harden’s chemistry is peaking. However, this is a horrible spot for Philly tonight. They’ll be coming from Indiana for the second leg of a back-to-back, a game that saw a combined 290 points scored.

This is also the last game of a brutal five-game road trip full of high-intensity, emotion-filled games. No injury report has been officially posted yet, so we could see several Sixers sidelined. As Doc Rivers calls it, tonight is a scheduled loss. Minnesota’s being handed a gift by the scheduling gods; they hopefully won’t mess it up. 

• Anthony Edwards OVER 26.5 Points (-113)
• James Harden OVER Rebounds
• Jalen McDaniels OVER 11.5 Points (-122)

This isn’t the optimal matchup for Anthony Edwards, whose only gone over this number once in the past four games, with the 76ers defending opposing small forwards well. However, after watching Philly’s defensive effort last night, I can’t bet on any UNDERS. Edwards has the ego to put on a show on national television, allowing him to flourish against a sluggish defense.

Minnesota lacks length in their backcourt, so with Harden being one of the better-rebounding guards in the league, I like his spot. He’s hauled in nine boards in two straight games, so if he plays, I’ll look toward his line, which should feature good value at 6.5. If Harden doesn’t go, I will look to play De’Anthony Melton’s rebounding prop as a pivot.

Tobias Harris was sidelined last night, making way for Jalen McDaniels to get his first start as a Sixer, and boy, I left a believer. It was one game, but he dropped an efficient 20 points with a knack for where he was supposed to be, a beneficiary of several of Harden’s 20 assists. It is unclear if Harris will be sidelined again, but I’ll be looking to play McDaniels’s OVER regardless.