Despite its official status, this is more an exhibition game than an actual contest tonight in Minnesota. Neither the Bulls nor the Timberwolves have anything at stake, quite literally. Both will try to protect their stars from injury, with Chicago taking more extreme preventative measures.
Here are our free NBA picks and predictions for the Bulls at the Timberwolves on April 10, with tip set for 8:30 ET.
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Bulls vs Timberwolves odds
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The Timberwolves opened as 6.5-point favorites early Sunday morning, an opening line delayed as books waited for availability reports across the league on the final day of the regular season. That jumped briefly to -7.5 but returned to -6.5 across the board by mid-morning. The total opened at 234.5 at the same time, but moved in only one direction, gradually falling to 231.5 before all books had the total posted and continuing down to 229.5 early Sunday morning.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Bulls vs Timberwolves predictions
- Prediction: Timberwolves -6.5 (-110)
- Prediction: Over 229 (-110)
- Best bet: Timberwolves 1H -3 (-110)
Predictions made on 4/10/2022 at 2:50 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Bulls vs Timberwolves game info
• Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Date: Sunday, April 10, 2022
• Tip-off: 8:30 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports North, NBCS-Chicago+
Bulls vs Timberwolves betting preview
Key injuries
Bulls: DeMar DeRozan SG (Out), Zach LaVine PG (Out), Nikola Vucevic C (Out), Matt Thomas SG (Out), Alex Caruso SG (Out), Lonzo Ball PG (Out), Coby White SG (Doubtful).
Timberwolves: Karl-Anthony Towns C (Out), D’Angelo Russell PG (Questionable), Patrick Beverley PG (Questionable).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Bulls have not covered a spread in regulation against an opponent scoring at least 100 points since Feb. 24, going 0-15 in that stretch, part of going 6-15 ATS since the All-Star break. Find more NBA betting trends for Bulls vs. Timberwolves.
Bulls vs Timberwolves picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Spread analysis
The Bulls know they will have at least six days off after tonight. Any rhythm maintained by playing in this season finale would presumably be lost by next weekend regardless, hence sitting just about any player a casual basketball fan has ever heard of.
The Timberwolves, meanwhile, will face the Clippers in the play-in only 49 hours after this game tips. Rest matters for Minnesota, but so does rhythm. Some players have proactively asked head coach Chris Finch to play tonight just to keep in the flow of things. Hence, only center Karl-Anthony Towns has been outright sidelined.
That disparity alone screams for a spread larger than -6.5, but digging just a little deeper reveals even more reasons to fade Chicago. The Bulls will trot out Ayo Dosunmu, Javonte Green, and Tristan Thompson to lead the way against the Wolves. Those are decent rotation players, but hardly ones who will match up against even Minnesota’s reserves. Further down Chicago’s roster — and further down Chicago’s roster becomes the Bulls’ primary pieces tonight — Patrick Williams, Derrick Jones Jr., and Troy Brown Jr. are not going to strike fear into anyone at Target Center.
Since the All-Star break, none of those six have scored double digits per game. Off the Timberwolves’ bench — and keep in mind, most of Minnesota’s starters will play at least some tonight — three players average 10 or more.
The Bulls’ struggles of late are hard to overstate, but they are also not entirely applicable tonight, given the hodge-podge nature of their available players. They do not need to be applicable to fade Chicago, though, given the subpar nature of those who are available.
Furthermore, the Wolves have made a habit this season of blowing out the worst teams at home. They beat the Blazers by a combined 57 points in back-to-back games in March, most notably. Both those games became showcases for Minnesota’s reserves, the 43-point win on March 7 turning into an arena-wide birthday celebration for 14th-man Jake Layman.
Prediction: Timberwolves -6.5 (-110 at BetMGM)
Over/Under analysis
This is no All-Star Game. Dosunmu and Jones, in particular, may have bright futures, but they would not make any version of an awards team this year. Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley and forward Taurean Prince may be shooting well lately, but both are trying to keep up their momentum as much as anything else.
But this will feel like an All-Star Game. Why would anyone, obviously aside from questionable-to-play Patrick Beverley, play concerted defense in a game with quite literally no impact on the standings?
The deepest Chicago reserves will look to make a few buckets to improve their highlight reels to impress European teams this coming offseason. Minnesota point guard Leandro Bolmaro is still trying to figure out how to best drive through the lane, not how to slow an opponent.
Bet the Under at your own peril. You will be relying solely on poor players missing open shots. They might. But it is more likely transition buckets and open looks lead to this cruising Over a modest total.
Prediction: Over 229 (-110 at FanDuel)
Best bet
Anthony Edwards is expected to start tonight. If healthy from a non-COVID illness, D’Angelo Russell may want to play a few stretches to get his legs back after missing the last two games. Routine is crucial to Beasley after it took him half the season to play his way into shape after spending some of last offseason legally unable to work out appropriately.
Minnesota may treat tonight’s first half like the real deal, despite facing the second- and third-strings of the Eastern Conference’s No. 6 seed, and arguably one of the league’s worst teams since the All-Star break. If given the chance to back Edwards and Jarred Vanderbilt against what could be accurately described as a very good G-League team, take it.
Take it for the first half tonight, given Edwards, Russell and Beasley are unlikely to play late as they begin resting for Tuesday’s win-and-in tilt. The second half could get wonky, even if Minnesota’s deepest reserves are better than Chicago’s.
Pick: Timberwolves first half -3 (-110 at DraftKings)
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