The Philadelphia 76ers are mired in a four-game losing streak and now travel to Minnesota to take on a Timberwolves team chasing the Warriors and Rockets in the West. The Wolves and Sixers tip off Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. ET.
The Timberwolves are 5.5-point home favorites. The over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 215, down from the open of 216.5.
Before choosing a side of the spread, you need to hear what SportsLine senior analyst Larry Hartstein has to say. He has his finger on the pulse of both these teams: He's 14-6 in his past 20 picking Sixers games and 16-8 in his past 24 on the Timberwolves.
Those who have followed his picks have been rewarded in a big way.
Now, Hartstein has examined every matchup, every player and every trend for Sixers-Wolves on Tuesday night and locked in a confident pick.
The Sixers have lost four straight and five of six, but are expected to get some weapons back Tuesday, including Joel Embiid (back), the powerful center averaging a team-high 23.5 points and 11.1 rebounds.
Philly also gets back top reserve T.J. McConnell (shoulder), who has missed five of the past six contests.
The Sixers have two stars who can lead the way. In addition to Embiid, Ben Simmons is a leading Rookie of the Year candidate, averaging 18 points and a team-best 9.2 rebounds and 7.7 assists.
This is a team that flourishes when Embiid or Simmons take over. When one of them leads the team in scoring, Philly is 8-4. When anyone else takes charge, the team is 5-9.
The Wolves, meanwhile, alternated wins and losses over 12 games before beating the Mavericks 97-92 on Sunday for their second victory in a row. They're 16-11 and in fourth place in the Western Conference but several games behind the Rockets-Warriors-Spurs trio up top.
Minnesota has its own star center and wing player in Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler. Towns is averaging 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds while Butler is at 19 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
Philly is a respectable 6-7 on the road. Minnesota is 9-4 at home, but surprisingly just 3-6 against Eastern Conference teams.
Will the Sixers snap their streak or at least keep it within the spread until the end, or can the Wolves defend the home court and cover? The man on a red-hot streak on games involving both these teams has locked in his selection.
So what side of Sixers-Timberwolves do you need to be all over? Visit SportsLine now to see the strong point-spread winner of Sixers-Timberwolves, all from the man who is locked in on both teams, and find out.
