Big Al, Timberwolves, Host Thaddeus, Streaking Sixers
The Philadelphia 76ers (5-5 SU, 5-5 ATS, 3-7 O/U) have won and covered the spread in three straight games for BetUS NBA sports betting buffs everywhere. The Minnesota Timberwolves (1-8 SU, 4-5 ATS, 3-6 O/U) have dropped eight straight games and look like they’re in a world of trouble even at this early juncture of the 2008-09 regular season.
Both ballclubs will be gunning for a victory when they meet at Target Center tonight.
Philadelphia goes for its fourth straight win after dominating Oklahoma City in Saturday’s 110-85 win. Philadelphia covered the spread as a 10.5-point home favorite, outscoring Oklahoma City by 21 points in the second half.
Blossoming forward Thaddeus Young scored 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting and three other players reached double figures in scoring, including Samuel Dalembert who scored 13 and grabbed 16 rebounds.
“We got some energy after halftime and built on it,” said Andre Iguodala, who had 15 points, five rebounds and five assists Saturday. “It was a good win for us.”
In his last two games, Young has shot 63.6 percent from the field and averaged 24.0 points and 7.0 rebounds.
Minnesota is coming off a 90-84 road loss to the Denver Nuggets but covered the spread in the BetUS Sportsbook as a 9.5-poin road underdog.
The Timberwolves got 20 points from Al Jefferson and 18 from Randy Foye but one of the league’s worst shooting teams managed to make just 39.7 percent of its collective shots against the Nuggets.
“It’s tough. It’s just tough,” Minnesota coach Randy Wittman said. “We have to make sure we give ourselves a chance to win the games at the end. We’ve done that. We can’t lose focus of our play through three-and-a-half quarters.”
The Timberwolves have lost by a margin of just 5.9 points per game, a fact that says they are still playing hard despite their losing ways.
“We’ve been close almost every night,” said rookie Kevin Love, who came off the bench Sunday following four straight starts. “We’ve had five losses of under six points. It is tough. It’s time to get a win.”
Here is a look at the key trends for each team, followed by my in-depth analysis and NBA Free Picks:
The 76ers are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of less than .400.
The 76ers are 16-6-1 ATS in their last 23 games vs. a team with a losing S.U. record.
The Timberwolves are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 vs. Eastern Conference.
The Timberwolves are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 vs. NBA Atlantic.
The Under is 5-0 in 76ers last 5 games following a SU win of more than 10 points.
The Over is 6-1 in Timberwolves last 7 games following a ATS win.
The 76ers are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Minnesota.
The Road team is 6-1-1 ATS in the last 8 meetings.
The Underdog is 6-0-1 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
NBA Odds
Philadelphia 76ers -3½ -110
Minnesota Timberwolves +3½ -110
Over 188½ -110
Under 188½ -110
Analysis: The Sixers are playing solid basketball at the moment and have a genuine superstar in the making in forward Thaddeus Young for those that don’t know. I like Philadelphia to cover this spread narrowly by simply getting more opportunities to score as they lead the league in rebounding and the Timberwolves generally can’t shoot straight.
