The Minnesota Timberwolves hope to keep up their recent dominance of the Los Angeles Lakers when they clash in a prime-time showdown on Thursday at 10:30 p.m. ET at the Staples Center. Minnesota has won two of the three meetings this season with Los Angeles, including a 108-86 home blowout on Jan. 6. The Timberwolves sit two games out of the Western Conference playoff race, but can pick up a full game with a win over the Lakers, who enter Thursday a half-game out of the final spot. There has been plenty of line movement as tipoff approaches, as L.A. is favored by one in the latest Lakers vs. Timberwolves odds after opening as 1.5-point underdogs. The Over-Under, or total number of points Vegas expects to be scored, is 229.5. Before you make any Timberwolves vs. Lakers picks and NBA predictions, check out results from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, is crushing its NBA picks this season. It enters Week 15 of the 2018-19 NBA season with a sterling 171-120 record on all top-rated picks, returning well over $3,000 to anybody following them. And it has been particularly red-hot on its A-rated NBA picks against the spread recently, entering Week 15 on a blistering 23-11 run. Anybody following it is up huge.
Now, the model has locked in on Timberwolves vs. Lakers. We can tell you it's leaning under, but it also says one side of the spread cashes in over 50 percent of simulations. You can only see that one at SportsLine.
The model is aware Minnesota is looking to build on recent momentum that includes wins in six of its past nine outings. The Wolves needed a Derrick Rose buzzer-beater to pull off a 116-114 victory against short-handed Phoenix on Sunday, but dominated from the outset in a 118-91 win Tuesday. Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 25 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists. Rookie Josh Okogie set a career high with 21 points and added five rebounds.
Minnesota gave one of its most well-rounded performances in recent memory in a 108-86 win over the Lakers on Jan. 6. Towns and Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points each.
The Timberwolves have covered four straight in this series, but there's no guarantee they will do so again against a Lakers club that could receive a boost to its lineup.
Although Rajon Rondo could return Thursday from a finger injury, coach Luke Walton told the media that Brandon Ingram will play point guard with the first team regardless of Rondo's availability. The absences of Lonzo Ball (ankle), LeBron James (groin), and Rondo have forced Ingram to take on leadership roles, and the numbers suggest the Lakers are at their best when he gets his teammates involved. The Lakers are 8-3 when Ingram registers at least four assists, but 12-14 when he has fewer.
Ingram is averaging 16.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Rondo has played in just 14 games and averages 8.4 points and 6.7 assists.
Who wins Timberwolves vs. Lakers? And which side of the spread can you bank on over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side you should be all over Thursday, all from the model that's up nearly $3,000 on NBA picks this season.
