The Jimmy Butler circus is over. Butler’s antics over the past month finally became too much for the team and owner Glen Taylor, and Tom Thibodeau reluctantly traded him away. He was moved to Philadelphia for Dario Saric, Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless, and a 2022 second-round pick, which was considered a relatively good haul given how toxic the relationship had become. Now, it’s up to Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins to move on and gel with the new pieces to turn the Minnesota Timberwolves into a winner. They will start to see how it all comes together at home against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.
This regular season tilt between Western Conference foes will take place on Wednesday, November 14, 2018. Tip-off will take place at 8 p.m. ET from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and FSN.
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Odds Analysis
There has been no line released for this game as NBA betting odds generally come out the night before the game. This article will be published on Monday, so there are no basketball betting lines available at this time.
Key Injuries
New Orleans might not have two players available for this tilt. The Pelicans have had two of their key players miss games with injuries over the weekend, and both players are listed as questionable for Monday night’s game against Toronto. Guard Elfrid Payton and forward Nikola Mirotic are both listed as questionable with ankle injuries. Payton has already missed seven straight games, and the Pelicans really need him back, while Mirotic was injured in Wednesday’s win over Chicago.
There might be a couple players out for the Timberwolves too. Guard Jeff Teague has missed Minnesota’s last six games due to a knee injury, while Andrew Wiggins is listed as questionable for the Timberwolves’ tilt against Brooklyn on Monday due to a thigh contusion.
Player to Watch
Anthony Davis is continuing to build off of a fantastic playoff performance last year. The Brow turned it on after DeMarcus Cousins went down with a season-ending injury in the regular season, becoming an unstoppable force last year. He continued to improve in the playoffs, and he was a double-double monster in leading the Pelicans to a first-round sweep of Portland.
Davis is still tearing it up on the glass, but he has run into some shooting trouble this year. He is hitting just 46.3 percent of his field goals this year when he is a career 52 percent shooter. Interestingly enough, he is on pace to have his best year of shooting the three of his career, so he might be settling for too many jumpers or just getting somewhat unlucky.
Matchup to Watch
This is Karl-Anthony Towns’ team now. Towns will be asked to keep the ship from sinking due to all the things going on off the court. Like Davis, he is a double-double machine, but he is still refining aspects of his game. His field goal percentage has taken a dip from his previous averages, but he has really improved his touch it seems. Towns is sinking over 40 percent of his threes and more than 90 percent of his free throws, numbers that are rare for a big man.
He will be tested down low by Davis and Julius Randle. Those two have complemented each other well, and don’t be surprised to see Randle move towards Towns on the outside while Davis stays in the paint to protect the glass.
Live Betting Preview
Both of these teams have had their fair share of woes lately. Minnesota finished up a five-game road trip losing all five games, and only one of those losses was by single digits. Meanwhile, the Pelicans have alternated wins and losses throughout the year by winning their first four, losing the next six, and winning the last two to be 6-6. Chemistry is important in this league, and either you have it or you don’t. Minnesota seems like too much of a mess, so I’ll fade them in this environment.
NBA ATS Pick: Pelicans 114, Timberwolves 106
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