Phoenix Suns vs Minnesota Timberwolves betting tips and predictions for Tuesday’s NBA Game on TNT. The Phoenix Suns are aiming to win their 5th game in a row as they take on Western Conference rivals the Minnesota Timberwolves. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Phoenix Suns
Beating the Houston Rockets by 15 points last time out was the Suns’ 4th win in a row which keeps them 2nd in the Western Conference standings. Devin Booker continued his stellar play and scored 30 points on his 26th birthday and it was an impressive performance considering the Suns were without Deandre Ayton who missed the game after rolling his ankle in the win over New Orleans. His presence in the middle has left a lot of space for the Rockets to exploit, which could potentially be a problem in tonight’s game as well.
The Timberwolves are a lot better equipped in that area of the floor, so I’m expecting Phoenix to make adjustments here. Ayton’s replacement Bismack Biyombo played 22 minutes, but took only 1 shot which is significantly lower than Ayton’s average of 12.4 shots per game. The bench will once again have to step up, against the Rockets they scored 45 of the 124 Suns points. Phoenix has a 9-4 ATS record in their last 13 home games against Minnesota, they’ve also won 4 of their last 5 games vs Western Conference opponents.
Minnesota Timberwolves
At just 4-3 after 7 games played, you could argue that the Minnesota Timberwolves have underachieved so far this season. The acquisition of Rudy Gobert during the offseason has raised expectations for this team, but so far they’ve not been able to deliver. They failed to reach the 100 point mark in their latest game which was a 107-98 loss at San Antonio, their 2nd loss to the Spurs in less than a week.
Players like Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and D’Angelo Russell all disappointed in the loss, I am expecting them to bounce back in tonight’s game. Despite finishing the game with a +/- stat of -22, Karl-Anthony Towns led the scoring with 26 points and 11 rebounds. The Timberwolves don’t have a stellar record in game against the Suns, they’ve been able to cover the spread just twice in the last 8 meetings, plus they’ve won only once in the last 7 games against them.
Despite the absence of Ayton, I am still picking the Suns here. They were the best home team last season in the NBA and they haven’t missed a beat early on this year winning all 4 games at Footprint Center. The struggling Wolves are no match, so let’s go with the home team to cover.
Phoenix Suns vs Minnesota Timberwolves Predictions & Odds
Slowing down the tempo is one way to compensate for the absence of Ayton who is averaging 15.4 points per game. I think that’s the approach the Suns will take here, their defense has been stellar so far this season, right now they own the 4th best defensive rating at 106.2 after 6 games played. Minnesota isn’t far behind in that department with a 107.5 rating which is 6th best in the NBA. In terms of pace neither team excels this season, the Timberwolves are just around the league average at 98 possessions per game, while the Suns like to slow things down and average the 4th lowest amount at 91.6 per game.
I think playing the talented Timberwolves will be a good test for the Suns defense, they’ve been able to go under the total in 8 of their last 12 home games played on a Tuesday. Minnesota has struggled scoring the ball on the road, they have gone under in 4 of their last 6 such games as a result. After seeing them scored just 98 points at San Antonio, I think they could once again struggle to find their way to the basket here, so let’s back the under.
