Sean Barnard details his preview and prediction for Friday’s game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers.

Opening up a nine-game NBA slate, the Minnesota Timberwolves will face off with the Philadelphia 76ers. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.

This is the second and final matchup between these two cross-conference opponents, who each are dealing with some injury issues. They last faced off on February 22nd, resulting in a 135-108 win for the 76ers. Neither Joel Embiid nor Paul George was available for this matchup, while Rudy Gobert missed for Minnesota. Anthony Edwards is also listed as Questionable for Minnesota.

Looking at the odds for tonight, the 76ers enter as narrow 2.5-point favorites and hold -135 odds of winning outright on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Timberwolves hold +114 odds of winning outright with the game total set at 233.5.

Let’s dive into my preview and prediction for this Friday night matchup with the injury reports worth keeping an eye on as the day progresses.

Timberwolves at 76ers preview, prediction

The Minnesota Timberwolves hold a 46-30 record this season, which places them in sixth place in the Western Conference. They are playing on the second half of a back-to-back after losing to the Detroit Pistons 113-108 last night, and the Timberwolves are 6-7 across their past 13 games. On the season, the Timberwolves have gone 33-43 against the spread, and the game total has gone under in 43 of their 76 games played. 

Minnesota has not submitted an injury report at the time of writing because it’s the second half of a back-to-back. But it is worth noting that Anthony Edwards missed last night with a knee injury, which makes him ineligible for All-NBA teams as he will not reach the 65-game threshold. Jaden McDaniels is considered week-to-week with a knee injury and is expected to miss tonight. Edwards headlines the production with 29.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game on the season. Julius Randle adds 21.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.1 assists, while Rudy Gobert contributes 11.1 points and 11.4 rebounds. Donte DiVincenzo, Ayo Dosunmu, and Naz Reid also play notable roles.

As a team, the Timberwolves rank seventh in the league in scoring by dropping 117.6 points per game. They also rank 12th in offensive rating, seventh in field goal percentage, and fifth in three-point percentage. Defensively, opponents are scoring 114.1 points per game against the Timberwolves, which ranks 11th in the league. Minnesota also ranks fifth in defensive rating, fifth in opponents’ field goal percentage, and 15th in opponents’ three-point percentage.

The Philadelphia 76ers have climbed to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 42-34 record on the season. They are currently tied with the Raptors in the standings, but hold the tiebreaker and would earn a full playoff opportunity if the season ended today. Philadelphia blew out the Wizards in the previous game and has won seven of its past 10. On the season, the 76ers have gone 41-35 against the spread, and the game total is 39-37 to the over/under.

Joel Embiid was ruled out of the previous game due to illness and is listed as doubtful for tonight. He had some fun poking fun at the injury report in the previous game by attempting to make it an April Fools’ joke. But Embiid was unable to suit up, and his status will be worth monitoring today. The former MVP is averaging 26.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists across his 36 games played this year. Tyrese Maxey leads the NBA in minutes per game and is posting averages of 28.8 points, 6.8 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game. Paul George has made his return from a 25-game suspension with renewed energy and is looking to add to his season averages of 17.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. V.J. Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Adem Bona also play key roles in the rotation.

Nick Nurse’s squad is averaging 116.6 points per game, which ranks 11th in the NBA. The Sixers also rank 14th in offensive rating, 21st in team field-goal percentage, and 22nd in three-point percentage. Defensively, opponents are scoring 116.7 points per game against the Sixers, which ranks 21st in the NBA. They also rank 18th in defensive rating, 13th in opponents’ field-goal percentage, and 14th in opponents’ three-point percentage.

Timberwolves at 76ers prediction, best bet

Both of these teams have a wide variance in what they can look like on a night-to-night basis. They each also carry a concerning trait of taking some games without the necessary seriousness and have been punished because of this. The Timberwolves are fairly landlocked in the sixth seed in the Western Conference, with a 4.5-game cushion behind them. In contrast, the Sixers are pushing to lock up a top-six seed in the East and earn a full playoff seed. If the season ended today, they would have accomplished this, but they are tied with the Raptors and need to pick up some wins down the stretch.

My lean would be the Sixers’ defending home court and defeating the Timberwolves with Minnesota on the second half of a back-to-back.

However, I am backing the game total to go over the 233.5 line. Defense has been an issue for this Sixers team all season, with or without Embiid. Philadelphia ranks 21st in the league in opponents’ points allowed and has allowed 123+ points in three of its last five games. Minnesota ranks seventh in the league in scoring at 117.8 points per game and will be eager to exploit this.

During the first matchup between these two teams, the game total finished at 243. This was without Embiid, George, and Gobert on the floor for this matchup. Philadelphia has struggled to rebound all season, and expect Gobert to create some easy baskets on put-back opportunities as he faces this Philadelphia roster for the first time. Especially if Embiid is to miss, count on Maxey and Edgecombe setting the tone by playing at more of an up-tempo pace and looking to get out in transition as often as possible.

The game total is 24-18 to the over in home games for the Sixers this year and 14-11 as a home favorite. For the Timberwolves, the game total is 8-4 when playing on no rest, 21-16 when playing on the road, and 7-6 as an away underdog. Count on both teams scoring at a high rate and for the 233.5 line to be too low for the context of tonight’s matchup.

Best Bet: Game Total Over 233.5 (-110)