Trent Reinsmith
- What: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Portland Trail Blazers
- Date: Monday, December 12, 2022
- Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR
- Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
- How to Watch: ROOT Sports Plus, Bally Sports North, NBA League Pass
The NBA’s Western Conference Northwest Division is tightly packed. Five games separate the division-leading Denver Nuggets and the last-place Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder are the only team in the division below .500 and they are not that far off that mark with an 11-15 record. Tonight, December 12, 2022, the No. 2 team in the Northwest Division, the Portland Trail Blazers face the No. 4 Minnesota Timberwolves in Week 9 action of the 2022-23 NBA season.
These teams met on Saturday in Portland in a game where the Trail Blazers won 124-118.
Before we dive into the betting breakdown for tonight’s NBA matchup between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Portland Trail Blazers, check out our guide to betting on the 2023 NBA Finals and our tips for betting on the NBA.
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Portland Trail Blazers picks – December 12, 2022
| Teams |  |  |  |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | +170 | +170 | +170 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | -120 | -120 | -120 |
Minnesota Timberwolves breakdown
Consistency has not been the strong suit of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first eight weeks of the 2022-23 season. Outside of a run between November 13 and November 23, where the team went 5-0, Minnesota has not won more than three games in a row. In fact, until December 7 and December 9, the team had not won back-to-back games outside of that five-game winning streak. The Timberwolves are 13-13 on the season. The squad is 3-3 in the division and 6-6 in away games.
Anthony Edwards leads the Timberwolves in scoring with 22.9 points per game on a team-high 36.5 minutes. He also is tops in the team in rebounds (1.9). The only other member of the team who has more than 20 points per game is Karl-Anthony Towns at 20.8. Rudy Gobert, who scores an average of 14.1 points per game, is the team leader in rebounds (11.8) and blocks (1.2). D’Angelo Russell, who is the third-highest scorer on the club (16.4) leads the team in assists with 6.3.
The Timberwolves are the fifth-highest-scoring road team entering Week 9 of the 2023 NBA season. They average 114.8 points per game. Minnesota allows their opponents to score 114.1 points per game when the team is on the road.
Portland Trail Blazers breakdown
The Trail Blazers began the 2023 NBA season with four straight victories. The club has not had a winning streak of more than three games since then and they are 4-8 in their past 12 games, including a run where they went 1-7. On the bright side, Portland is 3-1 in their past four games. That one loss was a 121-120 setback to the Denver Nuggets. Portland is 6-6 at home and 3-2 in the division.
Portland has had injury issues, but the team’s top players are mostly healthy these days.
Damian Lillard is the team’s leading scorer with an average of 27.6 points per game, but Anfernee Simons is not far behind. The 23-year-old Simons has been playing over 36 minutes per game and averaging 24.2 points per game to go with a team-high 4.4 assists. Jerami Grant is also contributing more than 22 points per game on over 36 minutes of play. Josuf Nurkic, who is putting up 14. 5 points per outing, leads the Trail Blazers in rebounds. Meanwhile, Josh Hart, who is day-to-day and probable for tonight’s game, is tops in steals at 1.5.
Portland is in the middle of the pack in home scoring heading into Week 9 of the 2023 NBA schedule with an average of 115.5 points per game. The team is in the same spot in scoring defense, allowing 115.5 points per game on their home court.
Our pick
I expect this to be a close game, but the Trail Blazers are deeper and healthier than the Timberwolves and with that, the best bet for tonight’s NBA Western Conference matchup between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Portland Trail Blazers is for Portland to win back-to-back games over Minnesota.
Pick: Portland Trail Blazers to beat Minnesota Timberwolves.
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