Well, the Minnesota Timberwolves had an interesting Friday night. Sure, they lost to the Magic, but that part is pretty boring compared to the all out brawl that Austin Rivers and Mo Bamba got into. Rivers was suspended three games, so he won’t be out there today against the Denver Nuggets other than that, Minnesota could be without Rudy Gobert due to groin soreness and they will be without Karl-Anthony Towns, who is sidelined indefinitely.
The Denver Nuggets have done much more winning at 37-16 than the Wolves have (28-27) and much less fighting, but their lineup might not be intact either. Jamal Murray is doubtful due to injury management and the Nuggets are underdogs on the road. Let’s take a look at the odds for this one up in Minnesota.
Nuggets vs. Timberwolves odds, spread and total
Nuggets vs. Timberwolves prediction and pick
I’m not sure anybody in the NBA can do anything to stop Nikola Jokic who is averaging 24.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 10.1 assists, but I’m pretty sure that Minnesota would rather have Gobert out on the floor. He had 14 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists in the win against Atlanta but Jamal Murray was the one who carried the offense. Murray had 41 points and seven assists, he’s playing the best he has since his injury, so they’ll miss him a lot if he doesn’t play.
In January, he shot 48% from the field and 45% from three, while averaging 22.1 points and 5.8 assists. He’s playing the best he has since his knee injury and that’s a great sign for Denver’s title hopes, but without him today, they could be in trouble.
Jokic makes an offense efficient no matter the four guys on the floor with him, so I like the Nuggets ability to score, but without Murray, I don’t trust them to execute down the stretch. The Over is 4-0 in Denver’s last four, so that’ll be my play in this one.
Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change