The Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves put a lid on the NBA's five-game Christmas Day extravaganza when they face off at 10:30 p.m. ET on TNT. The Timberwolves are 3.5-point road favorites, down from an open of four. The Over-Under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 213.5.
Before you lock in your picks and bets for this Christmas nightcap, you need to see what SportsLine's advanced computer model is picking. The model is on a red-hot 37-22 run in top-rated against-the-spread picks this NBA season.
Now, the model simulated Timberwolves-Lakers 10,000 times and locked in against the spread and Over-Under picks.
One we'll give away: The Under is hitting in 55 percent of simulations, with a final score projected well below the current total. But what about the spread?
The model knows the Lakers team that shows up on Christmas Day could be the one that's lost five out of six games or the one that handled the powerhouse Rockets 113-106 in Houston on Wednesday for its lone win during this downward stretch.
Kyle Kuzma looked like a Rookie of the Year candidate against Houston, going off for 38 points and seven rebounds.
Kuzma leads the team in scoring, despite coming off the bench for most of the season (17.7 points per game). The young Lakers don't have a starter over the age of 24, but balance has served them well. A whopping seven players average double-figures.
Rookie Lonzo Ball isn't one of those seven, but he had 16 points in the win over the Rockets and scored 24 in Friday's 113-106 loss to Golden State.
The Lakers are one of many teams chasing Minnesota in the West. The Wolves are on an island as the No. 4 team in the conference right now, several games behind the Big Three (Golden State, Houston, San Antonio) but a few games in front of the likes of Oklahoma City, Denver, and New Orleans.
The Wolves are 5-2 over their last seven games, with all but one contest decided by single-digits.
Jimmy Butler has emerged as the No. 1 scoring option for the Wolves lately. Over the last 11 games, the forward is averaging 26.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists.
Butler averages 20.6 ppg on the season, making a formidable 1-2 combo at the top for Minnesota. Karl-Anthony Towns brings in 20.5 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.
Depth remains a concern, with the bench providing just 25.4 points per game, fourth fewest in the league.
Which Western Conference team will make a statement to put a cap on the huge NBA Christmas Day schedule? The SportsLine Projection Model's picks are in.
So what side of Timberwolves-Lakers do you need to be all over? Visit SportsLine now to see the strong point-spread pick for Timberwolves-Lakers, all from the model that has absolutely crushed the NFL and is on an NBA roll, and find out.
