NBA

Celtics-Timberwolves Betting Odds, Preview, and Predictions | BetOnline.ag

The Boston Celtics (16-17, 17-14-2 ATS) travel across the country tonight to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves (15-17, 16-16 ATS). After an ugly loss on Christmas Day, the C’s are hoping to bounce back against a Timberwolves team who has been somewhat surprising this year. While Boston is a disappointing .500 team, the opposite can be said about Minnesota, who is hovering around .500 but actually making progress.

According to the online sports book Betonline.ag, the Boston Celtics are 5.5-point favorites:

Point Spread: Boston Celtics -5.5
Over-Under: 214 points
Money line: Boston Celtics -220, Minnesota Timberwolves +190

Injury Report

The C’s have ten players listed on the injury report for tonight. Of them, eight are out, and Grant Williams is questionable to make his return from health and safety protocols. In addition, Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum has entered protocols ahead of tonight’s contest. The other seven that remain in protocols are Dennis Schroder, Josh Richardson, Enes Freedom, Bruno Fernando, Aaron Nesmith, CJ Miles, and Justin Jackson. Meanwhile, Marcus Smart is questionable due to a right-hand laceration.

The Timberwolves are also dealing with an absurd number of absences. Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards, Jarred Vanderbilt, Naz Reid, and Tauren Prince are all out due to H&S. Both Patrick Beverley and Josh Okogie are questionable to make their return from protocols.

Boston Celtics

G: Marcus Smart

G: Romeo Langford

F: Jaylen Brown

F: Al Horford

C: Robert Williams

Minnesota Timberwolves

G: Jordan McLaughlin

G: Malik Beasley

F: Jake Layman

F: Jaden McDaniels

C: Nathan Knight

Boston Celtics Overview

Boston blew a 19-point lead to the Milwaukee Bucks on Christmas. This only added to the long list of leads they’ve thrown away so far this season. Just look at the loss to the Chicago Bulls and the first game against the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. Head coach Ime Udoka spoke about this issue after the Bucks game and said that they have to figure out how to fix it as a team. Sophomore guard Payton Pritchard put a positive spin on the whole thing, stating that this only shows that they’re capable of winning big games, and they can only grow and improve from here.

Speaking of Pritchard, he’s been making waves in the Celtics rotation. With Dennis Schroder out due to health and safety protocols, Pritchard has been stepping up in a big way. He provides great shooting, solid defense, and an awesome off-ball presence next to the Jays. Those are three things that Schroder doesn’t do. If Pritchard keeps playing this well, then it makes it a lot easier for the C’s to trade Schroder before the trade deadline.

As for the rest of the squad, they just need to remain consistent. It’s something Udoka has spoken about all year long. Near the end of games, they start playing isolation-heavy basketball again instead of playing the way that got them to that point. Udoka stated it as, “they need to not get bored with what made us successful.” Even when they do get good shots, as they did in the fourth against Milwaukee, they just weren’t falling. As soon as the Celtics can figure out how to stay consistent, their lives will get a whole lot easier.

Minnesota Timberwolves Overview

For Minnesota, this season’s been all about growth. They’ve been towards the bottom of the Western Conference for years, and the team needed a change. They brought in Patrick Beverley to help create a culture, inserted Jarred Vanderbilt into the starting lineup permanently, and boom, the team is seeing some positive results. They’re still under .500, but Minnesota is fully in the race for a playoff spot this year, which is something they couldn’t have said in years prior.

Karl-Anthony Towns is having an amazing season, too. He’s averaging 24.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 51.0 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from deep. Those are absurd shooting splits for a big man. His partners in crime, D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards, have also been playing well. Russell is slowly improving his efficiency after a rough start, and Edwards is the same driving force he was during his rookie campaign.

The real change for the Timberwolves this season, though, has been Vanderbilt. His counting stats for the season aren’t indicative of the impact he’s made for Minnesota this year. Since being permanently inserted into the starting five, Vanderbilt is averaging 6.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. His defensive intensity is exactly what the Timberwolves have needed.

Prediction

With Tatum sidelined, Jaylen Brown is going to have to step up in a big way. While Brown was out, Tatum and Schroder put up big numbers in the scoring column. Now that the ladder two are out, it’s Brown’s turn to return the favor. He’ll bet the best player on the court tonight, so the C’s will depend on him to be the go-to guy. This doesn’t mean he should run an isolation play every time down, but simply that the offense should run through him at all times tonight.

Minnesota’s roster is extremely depleted right now. While Boston’s is too, there’s no doubt that they have the more talented roster tonight based on injuries alone. The Celtics may be missing their best player, but the Timberwolves are missing their best three. However, this is a dangerous thing, because the Celtics love to underestimate their opponents. Boston has to focus on playing hard and playing the right way tonight. They can’t catch themselves slacking off on either end of the floor.

Lastly, if the C’s want to win, they need to play a full 48 minutes. This is going to be a win condition until they prove that they won’t blow leads anymore. After the collapse against Milwaukee on Christmas Day, this is more crucial than ever. If the Celtics falter at any point in the game, the opponent, no matter who they are facing, is bound to take advantage of that. If the Celtics don’t play a consistent game, then their chances of winning plummet.

With how badly each team has been hit by health and safety protocols, this is going to be a weird game to watch. That being said, looking at the projected starting lineups, the Celtics have a clear edge. They should be able to take care of business tonight in Minnesota.