Minnesota Timberwolves vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 12/01/2024, 07:50  by Joseph King | Modified on 12/01/2024 at 12:00 in NBA Prediction

A Western Conference clash on Friday’s NBA slate sees the first-place Minnesota Timberwolves taking on the 14th-placed Portland Trail Blazers. The Timberwolves are having a fantastic season and have taken a major leap over the team that won 42 games last year. At 26-11, Minnesota finds itself tied with the Thunder for the top spot in the West. However, the hosts have hit their first real rough patch of form on the season as they’ve now won just two of their last six. Minnesota’s last outing resulted in a heartbreaking 127-120 away loss to the Celtics in overtime as they came extremely close to dealing Boston its first home loss of the campaign. The Twolves will return back to the Target Center for this matchup where they’ve posted an excellent 14-2 record.

The Trail Blazers are rebuilding following the loss of star point guard Damian Lillard to the Bucks. Not much has gone right for Portland this season as they’ve won just 10 of their 37 total games. They suffered a humiliating 139-77 loss to the Thunder last night with the 62-point margin of defeat representing the largest of the season and the second-worst in Portland franchise history. Things won’t get much easier for the visitors in this one as they go from playing the second-place West team to the first-place team, both occurring on the road. To make matters even worse, Portland will be playing the second leg of a road back-to-back, which is also the final game of a lengthy seven-game road trip. The deck is truly stacked against the Trail Blazers here as they’ll face off against the league’s best defense while possessing the league’s worst offense (107.4 points per game average).