The Washington Wizards hit the road and play the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center on Friday, November 15, 2019.
Washington is off to a rough start without All-Star guard John Wall who is out for the season with an Achilles injury. The Wizards have won just once in their last seven games and head to Minnesota with three straight losses. Minnesota is having a surprising 7-4 start behind the strong start of Andrew Wiggins who is having his best scoring season ever. The Wolves head home with just one loss in their last four games played.
Without Wall
The Washington Wizards continue to struggle without All-Star point guard John Wall. The Wizards have lost six out of their last seven games played, including their last three to fall to 2-7 SU on the season. In their last game against the Boston Celtics, Washington lost 133-140 despite a mammoth 44-point effort by Bradley Beal.
Beal is averaging 28.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.1 steals to lead the Wizards. Young big men Thomas Bryant and Rai Hachimura are contributing 14.7 and 14.4 points per game this season while Isaiah Thomas is putting up 13.9 points and 6.3 assists per game this season.
The Wizards rank 8th in the league in scoring at 115.6 points per game this season. They are 25th off the glass with an average of 42.9 boards per contest and are 5th in passing at 26.0 assists per game. Washington is allowing 120.0 points per game this season, 4th most in the league.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are a surprising 7-4 SU on the season, thanks to big starts from their young superstars Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony Towns. Minnesota heads to this match having won back to back games against the Pistons and Spurs and are the NBA betting favorites to beat the Wizards here.
Wiggins is averaging a career-best 25.9 points per game this season while Towns is putting up 25.8 points per game this year. Wiggins has registered four 30-point games in his last five games played while Towns has produced a double-double in four out of his last five outings.
Minnesota is the 4th highest-scoring team in the NBA right now at 117.2 points per game this season. The Wolves are 7th in rebounding at 47.4 boards grabbed per contest and they are 18th in passing at 23.9 assists per game. Minnesota is giving up 116.2 points per game which is sixth-most in the league this season.
Who Wins?
The Wizards are 1-6 SU in their last seven games played. Washington is 1-5 SU in their last six games played on the road. The Timberwolves are 3-1 SU in their last four games played and 3-2 SU in five home games played this season. Minnesota is also 6-1 SU in their last seven Friday games played. Head to head, the Timberwolves are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played against the Wizards. Minnesota is also 14-4 SU in their last 18 home games against Washington.
Washington has lost six out of their last seven games and in their last outing, we saw them come up empty despite Bradley Beal pumping 44 points against the Celtics. The Wizards also got big games from Rai Hachimura and Isaiah Thomas but it was obvious they missed John Wall again.
The Wolves have won three out of their last four games played and Andrew Wiggins has scored 30 or more points in four out of their last five games played. Wiggins and Towns have combined for at least 50 points in each of their last three games played and when you have Minnesota’s young dynamic duo in synch, they are tough to beat.
Minnesota is 9-1 SU in their last 10 games as home favorites. The Wizards are in a funk right now. Washington simply doesn’t have enough star power to compete with the other teams without John Wall. I think Wiggins and Towns will be too much for them.
Prediction: Minnesota Timberwolves
Other Bets to Make
The Wizards are 5-3-1 ATS in nine games played this season. Washington is 3-1-1 ATS in five road games played this season, 4-1 ATS in their last five games against the Western Conference, and 4-1 ATS in their last five games against the Northwest Division. The Timberwolves are 6-4-1 ATS in 11 games played this season. Minnesota is 2-2-1 ATS in five home games played this season, 8-3 ATS in their last 11 November games, and 6-1 ATS in their last seven Friday games. Head to head, the Wizards are 3-1 ATS in their last four games played against the Timberwolves.
Wizards
+7 (-115)
Wolves
-7 (-105)
Odds from SportsBetting as of 11/15/19
Minnesota has outscored Washington by an average of four points per game in their last 10 meetings and by 4.33 points per game in their most recent three games played. The Wolves have covered just once in their last six games as favorites of seven or more points and six out of their last 10 head to head meetings were decided by seven-point or fewer. Washington came up short by seven points to Boston last November 13. I expect them to come up with the same effort against the Timberwolves. I like Minnesota to win but I’ll take the plus points here.
Prediction: Wizards +7
The over is 4-2-1 in the last seven games played by the Wizards. The total has gone under in five out of the last seven Friday games played by Washington. The total has gone over in six out of the last seven games played by Minnesota. The over is 4-1 in their last five home games played. Head to head, the total has gone over in eight out of the last nine games between the Wizards and Timberwolves.
Over
240.5 (-115)
Under
240.5 (-105)
Odds from SportsBetting as of 11/15/19
These teams have combined to score 224.6 points per game in their last 10 head to head games and 253.67 points per game in their most recent three encounters. The Wizards have conceded an average of 126.7 points per game in their last seven games including 131 to this same Minnesota team last November 2. The Wolves have also allowed 119.67 points per game in their last six games. These teams combined for 240 points in their last meeting and I think this one’s going to be just the same kind of game.
Prediction: Over 240.5