Timberwolves vs Trail Blazers Picks and Predictions: Dame-less Blazers Have Found Their Footing

The Minnesota Timberwolves have won three of their last four games and now take on a Portland Trail Blazers team that is 4-1 in its last five. With both of these teams playing some solid basketball right now, this meeting between them should be a fun one. 

Will a Damian Lillard-less Portland stay hot and earn a home win over Minnesota? You’ll need to keep reading our NBA betting picks and predictions for Timberwolves vs. Trail Blazers to find out.  

Timberwolves vs Trail Blazers odds

Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.

It’s important to shop around for the best odds before making any picks, and this game is no different. Portland opened as a 3.5-point home underdog, but the team is now getting only 3 on most books. You can, however, find them getting 3.5 on one. Meanwhile, the total has gone up from 227 at open to 227.5. 

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.

Timberwolves vs Trail Blazers predictions

• Prediction: Trail Blazers +3.5 (-110)
• Prediction: Over 229.5 (-110)
• Best bet: McCollum Over 4.5 assists (-136)

Predictions made on 01/25/2022 at 2:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.

Timberwolves vs Trail Blazers game info

• Location: Moda Center, Portland, OR
• Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2022
• Tip-off: 10:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ROOT Sports Northwest, Bally Sports North

Timberwolves vs Trail Blazers betting preview

Injuries

Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards F (Questionable), Patrick Beverley G (Questionable).
Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard G (Out), Larry Nance Jr. F (Questionable), Cody Zeller C (Questionable), Norman Powell F (Questionable).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.

Betting trend to know

The Trail Blazers are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games as underdogs. . Find more NBA betting trends for Timberwolves vs. Trail Blazers.

Timberwolves vs Trail Blazers picks and predictions

Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.

Spread analysis

The Timberwolves have been a pleasant surprise this season, but the Blazers are really doing some impressive things with a shorthanded roster right now. This Portland team has found a way to win without Lillard and is 7-4 both SU and ATS in its last 11 games.

Anfernee Simons and CJ McCollum are big reasons for that and give Portland an advantage in the backcourt on most nights. Look for both players to play well against a Timberwolves team that doesn’t have too many great perimeter defenders. Over the last 11 games, Portland is 14th in the league in offensive rating, and it has a lot to do with those two players. 

Portland needs to somewhat contain Karl-Anthony Towns in this game, but they should feel good about Jusuf Nurkic doing his own thing in the paint on the other end. It’s almost more important that the Blazers are at home on everybody outside of Towns, as KAT goes for huge numbers every night. It’s when Minnesota’s supporting cast gets hot that the Wolves are at their most dangerous.

The Blazers have been more disciplined on the defensive end lately, too. While they’re just 29th in the league in defensive rating this year, they’re up to 17th in that mark over the last 11 games. 

Nassir Little is a player that could make a big impact on this game. Little had 19 points, seven rebounds, one block and one steal in a win over the Toronto Raptors last game. He’s a ball of energy on the wing on both ends of the floor for Portland, so he could give the team a little offensive production while also forcing Anthony Edwards to work extremely hard for his buckets on the other end. 

It is worth noting that the Blazers are 4-1 both SU and ATS in their last five home games. Back them with the points in tonight's contest. 

Prediction: Trail Blazers +3.5 (-110)

Over/Under analysis

Coming into this game, the Over is 6-0 in the last six games that the Timberwolves have played as favorites. It’s also 10-2 in the last 12 games in which Minnesota is coming off a game where the team scored at least 125 points.

This Timberwolves team loves to get up and down the floor and finds themselves in a lot of high-scoring games, playing at the fourth-fastest pace in the entire NBA. It makes sense considering they have to be confident they can outscore opponents with the amount of offensive talent they have. 

Don’t be surprised if this is yet another game in which both teams put up a lot of points. Portland has what it takes to consistently get good shots against this Minnesota defense, and it just wouldn’t be shocking if this thing ends up being in the high 230s or low 240s.

The Over has hit in three of the last four meetings between these two teams and the total continues to climb in this one, despite the public betting on the Under. 

Prediction: Over 229.5 (-110)

Best bet

In Portland’s win over Toronto last game, McCollum had six assists for the Blazers. And despite the fact that he’s averaging only 4.4 assists per game this year, you’d have to pay a decent amount of juice on the Over. That makes the Over on his assists tonight seem like the sharper side, and it’s not hard to envision McCollum dishing out a few more assists than usual tonight.

This game against the Timberwolves should be a high-scoring affair, with the total now reaching 234 in some places. With that, there should be a lot of opportunities for McCollum to make plays for others. Also, while Simons is playing well at point guard, he’s a bit more of a scorer than a pure point. That means the Blazers need some extra playmaking to come from somewhere. McCollum can easily be the source. 

Pick: CJ McCollum Over 4.5 assists (-136)

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