Boston Celtics vs Minnesota Timberwolves betting tips and predictions for Monday’s game in the NBA. We have a cross conference match-up between the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves as the two teams clash at Target Center. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics led for majority of the game on Christmas Day against the defending champions Milwaukee Bucks, but they just couldn’t hold on in the end. They did cover the spread in that game, so that’s a consolation prize. However, they are just 9th in the Eastern Conference right now and are under .500 with a 16-17 record. They’ve failed to connect two wins in a row for almost a month now and things could get interesting as we approach the trade deadline. They’ll be missing their point guard Dennis Schroder here, but outside of that they are pretty much all good as far as injuries go. In their last 6 games they covered 4 times and in the last 9 meetings with Minnesota they are 9-0 SU/ATS.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota isn’t that lucky when it comes to injuries. They still have most of their star players out due to health and safety protocols. The Big 3 of D’Angelo Russell, Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards all remain out, unless something dramatic changes ahead of tipoff here. They’ve dropped their last 3 games at Dallas and Utah, both by 12 points which isn’t all that bad when you consider they are playing with a bunch of G-League players at the moment. Minnesota is 6-1 ATS in their last 6 games, however playing at home against the Celtics has been an issue as they’ve gone 0-5 ATS in the last 5 games. Facing teams from the Eastern Conference has been an issue in general, they are just 1-4 ATS in the last 5 such games and 1-5 SU in the last 6 vs Atlantic Division opponents.
Boston has dominated the head-to-head match-ups for a while now, they are by far the healthier team here and they looked pretty solid in the match-up with Milwaukee on Christmas Day. With both Tatum and Brown healthy they are the clear favorites here and I think they’ll do well against a sub-par Minnesota roster. Give me the Celtics to cover.
Minnesota Timberwolves – Boston Celtics Predictions & Odds
Boston -8.5 Point Spread is available at -110 odds on bet365
Both of these teams have been involved in some high scoring games lately. The Celtics are coming off a 230 point game against Milwaukee, while the Timberwolves saw 244 points scored in their match-up with Utah the other day. In the last 3 games they are averaging an almost identical number of points at 109.7 and 109 per game. What separates them is their play on defense – Minnesota has allowed 115.7 points per game in their last 3, while Boston is slightly better at 108.7 per game. As a result the over has cashed 9 times in the last 11 Timberwolves games, while for Boston the over has cashed in 6 of their last 7 vs Northwest Division teams. Head to head meetings have also been profitable if you like backing the over. That bet has landed 7 times in the last 10 games, including 5 of the last 6. Even if Minnesota struggles to score here, I think the Celtics have enough with Brown and Tatum to push us over the total. Go with the points in this one.
Over 217.5 Total Points is available at -110 odds on bet365
