Keagan Smith dives into his pick and prediction for the Boston Celtics vs. Minnesota Timberwolves matchup on Saturday as part of the eight-game NBA slate.

Two potential NBA Playoff hopefuls start the Saturday slate with an early matchup at 5 p.m. EST today. The Minnesota Timberwolves are floundering with three straight losses and looking to hit the reset button to put this poor stretch of play in the rearview. They’ll face a difficult defense tonight in the Boston Celtics, still hanging around above the .500 mark with one of the league’s more intriguing rosters.

Here’s a Celtics vs. Timberwolves prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Saturday’s matchup.

Celtics vs. Timberwolves prediction, preview

Boston Celtics

As the Celtics continue to weather the storm of life without Jayson Tatum in the lineup, the team is finding an identity in guard-heavy lineups that play tough defense and jack up three-pointers as if nothing’s ever changed. Boston holds a 10-8 record and comes off a pair of wins over the Magic and the Pistons, the latter of whom are the Eastern Conference’s top dogs. The C’s allow the second-fewest points to opponents and play at the NBA’s slowest pace, so they’ll look to drag the tempo to their own speed and grind this game to a halt tonight. While the offense isn’t spectacular at 22nd in scoring, they’re actually fifth in OFFRTG while taking the third-most shots from beyond the arc. Jaylen Brown (questionable, back) leads the team with 28.2 PPG, an average which continues to tick upward thanks to 49.5% shooting from the field, a much-needed bump from last season’s poor efficiency. He’s followed by Payton Pritchard and Derrick White, each of whom post 16.6 and 16.0 PPG with around five assists as well. Anfernee Simons provides a scoring punch off the bench with 13.9 PPG as well. Overall, the Celtics are a feisty group despite a lack of true superstars with a NETRTG of +4.7, 10th in the league.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Where the C’s just emerged with a standout win, the Wolves are headed the opposite direction. They’ve dropped three straight contests to the Suns, Kings and Thunder, erasing all momentum from a 6-1 stretch prior which began back on November 7. Minnesota posts a quality NETRTG of +4.6, good for 11th, and the team ranks 12th in scoring and 10th in opponent points allowed. The Timberwolves are also middle-of-the-pack in pace at 14th. They’re led by the star duo of Anthony Edwards (28.0 PPG) and Julius Randle (23.4 PPG, 7.5 REB, 5.7 AST), but the contributions of the players surrounding them also stand out. Jaden McDaniels is an elite two-way talent with 16.1 PPG while shooting 46.6% from three, Donte DiVincenzo and Naz Reid post 13.7 and 13.1 PPG, and Rudy Gobert averages a double-double while leading the league in field-goal percentage. There’s plenty of support behind the stars here, though the lack of a true point guard in the starting lineup does hold the unit back slightly as Mike Conley has regressed into a lesser role over the last couple of campaigns.

Celtics vs. Timberwolves pick, best bet

On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Timberwolves are -7.5 favorites with -290 odds to win on the Moneyline. The Celtics are listed at +235 to win outright with a game total of 227.5 points.

The injury report is notable for the C’s with Jaylen Brown (back) questionable to play, potentially leaving the team without its top talent. If he doesn’t suit up, this game screams blowout and I don’t mind going ahead and picking Wolves -7.5 at the moment in case he winds up inactive today. If he does play, it’ll likely be a closer affair, but I still like that line after all. While this Boston defense loves to blitz the ball handler and does well to limit opponents’ scoring, it lacks real standout talent in the frontcourt at forward and center. Neemias Queta (ankle) is probable to play but the group of Josh Minnott, Sam Hauser and Luka Garza have their work cut out for them handling Julius Randle, Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert. If the Timberwolves feed that frontcourt, there’s a significant size advantage — especially with the Celtics allowing the third-most second-chance points of any defense. Anthony Edwards is tough to guard in the first place, so between he and those big men, the Wolves should roll today.

Top pick: MIN Timberwolves -7.5 (-108)