Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Clippers Preview

The NBA Playoffs are about to begin, but first, we have a play-in tournament to get through to determine the final playoff spots.

The Minnesota Timberwolves shocked the world this season by getting this far a season after finishing with the sixth-worst record in the league.

The Los Angeles Clippers, on the other hand, had a down season with Kawhi Leonard sidelined for the entirety of it and Paul George missing significant time.

We should be in for an exciting NBA game! 

Betting Odds & Lines

BetOnline has the point spread of this game at Timberwolves -3.5. BetOnline also has the over/under at 230.5.

Timberwolves’ Outlook

The Timberwolves’ game plan starts and ends with Karl-Anthony Towns. The Piscataway, NJ native easily played the best basketball of his career this season and should’ve quite honestly gotten more buzz for the MVP Award.

Towns averaged 24.6 points on nearly 53 percent shooting this season, which includes 41 percent from three. He also averaged 9.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

Not only did he put up those numbers, he could rely on teammates Anthony Edwards, D’Angelo Russell, and several others to get their own piece of the pie.

Towns is going to be extremely tough for the Clippers to stop, as he can create his own shot from three, take defenders off the dribble on drives to the rim, and beat you in the post.

Edwards also recently had a 48 point game, so expect him to put up a solid all-around scoring performance in this one, especially with a playoff spot on the line.

Russell should continue to lead this team at the point guard position, as he’ll be responsible for making plays for his teammates but also creating open 3-point shots and layup opportunities for himself.

Clippers’ Outlook

Paul George is healthy and available for this game, which should give the Clippers a significant shot at pulling this one out.

George shed the whole “Pandemic P” label last postseason, as he was able to take his team all the way to the Western Conference Finals. However, with him just recently coming back from injury, it may be tough for him to get all the way back to that form for this specific game.

Norman Powell also remains a threat to score the ball, as he put up 24 and 20 points in his first two games since returning to the lineup. 

Timberwolves Win

The Timberwolves are just the much better all-around team, as they could’ve been seeded much higher if it wasn’t for such a poor start to the season.

Expect Big KAT to go all-in for a chance to get to the playoffs, which will continue to legitimize his case as one of the best players in the league.

If the Clippers hope to squeeze this one out, they’ll need a vintage performance from PG-13 and rely on their other role players to step in and provide the extra lift necessary to win.

Expect the Wolves to win and cover the spread.