Keagan Smith dives into his pick and prediction for the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Phoenix Suns matchup on Friday as part of the nine-game NBA slate.

The NBA Cup continues group play tonight with colorful courts all across the Association. In the Arizona desert, the Phoenix Suns host the Minnesota Timberwolves for one of the most interesting games of the evening with plenty of upside for an entertaining duel between Western Conference foes.

Here’s a Timberwolves vs. Suns prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Friday’s matchup.

Timberwolves vs. Suns prediction, preview

Minnesota Timberwolves

At 10-5, these Timberwolves are winning plenty of games thus far as the pairing of Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle finally blossoms into the star duo which was promised all along. Edwards’ 25.2 PPG are a team-best, but Randle is producing 25.0 PPG himself while shooting over 50% from the field and pitching in 7.5 rebounds. The pairing are playing quite well off each other, and Jaden McDaniels’ offensive leap to 17.5 PPG is another major help for this unit as the two-way talent bangs home 52.1% of his three-point attempts. Granted, he’s questionable to play tonight due to a wrist injury. The T-Wolves are top-10 in both PPG and opponent scoring allowed, and they come in at fourth in OFFRTG and 13th in DEFRTG as well. With a +6.5 NETRTG, Minnesota falls sixth-best in the league — as currently constructed, the signs point toward a real contender.

Phoenix Suns

Expectations for the Suns weren’t high entering this season after trading away Kevin Durant, but despite missing the piece that move returned in Jalen Green for most of the young campaign, they’re 9-6 so far under first-year head coach Jordan Ott. Phoenix ranks 13th in scoring but fifth in OFFRTG, and the defense is surprisingly eighth in opponent scoring as well as 15th in DEFRTG. That adds up to a +5.3 NETRG, good for ninth overall. Devin Booker is up to 27.8 PPG and 6.9 assists as the lead guard, but the contributions of the surrounding role players are arguably more impressive — Dillon Brooks averages 20.9 PPG and Mark Williams is also playing well on a minutes limit with 11.7 points and 8.2 rebounds a night. Grayson Allen posts 18.5 PPG on 44.7% shooting from three, but his contributions will be missed since he’s out with a quad contusion tonight. Regardless, it’s a true team effort in Phoenix and someone else must step up.

Timberwolves vs. Suns pick, best bet

On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Timberwolves are -4.5 favorites with -185 odds on the Moneyline. The Suns hold +154 odds to win outright with a game total of 231.5 points.

The status of McDaniels does shape the outlook slightly tonight since he’s the third-leading scorer for Minnesota as well as the team’s best defensive talent. If he plays, it feels like the Timberwolves can win handily. If he sits though, Phoenix may wind up keeping this one a good deal closer, even without Allen in the lineup.

For the sake of the argument though, consider the rest of the rosters. Edwards and Booker are pretty close when it comes to talent and production, but the T-Wolves do have a reliable second star in Randle who’s playing arguably some of the best ball of his entire career. His ability to create offense for himself and for others far outweighs the complimentary options on the Suns’ roster (even with Brooks playing well). While Phoenix is a little bit better on the boards this season at ninth in REB% compared to 15th for Minnesota, the Timberwolves take better care of the ball and also have a more versatile assortment of defenders to throw at their opponent as well. Personally, I quite like the Wolves’ odds of escaping with a win tonight, and assuming McDaniels does play, I’m backing them to cover at -4.5.

Top pick: MIN Timberwolves -4.5 (-110)