Portland Trail Blazers vs. Minnesota T-Wolves NBA Gambling Preview & Pick

Portland vs Minnesota NBA Betting Odds

Entering the 2013-14 NBA season, the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves were supposed to be neck and neck when it came to the final few spots in the postseason. [ad-4468020]

Portland (22-4) @ Minnesota (12-13)
Wednesday, Dec. 17 5:00 PM ET
Spread: Minnesota -5
Over/Under: OFF

NBA ATS Stats | NBA Betting Insight!

Check out our in-house Handicapper!!! Buy Razor Ray’s NBA Picks!

As it turns out, the Blazers have the best record in the NBA coming into this game, while the Wolves are two and a half games out of the eighth seed out West.

Portland

The Trail Blazers won 11 road games all of last season, yet their win Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers gave them 12 total this year. This team is winning games at an incredible rate, but it is also winning games in all fashions.

The Best NBA Predictions on the PLANET!!! CLICK TO CHECK OUT OUR EXPERTS NBA PLAYS TODAY!

Last night’s game-winner from Damian Lillard (his second in two games), proved once again that this team can win close despite being the No. 1 scoring offense in the entire NBA.

This team has a two-headed monster in Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge, but you can’t ignore the rest of the starting lineup. Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews are as dangerous as it comes out on the three-point line, which is a major reason why the team is second in three-point percentage.

Defensively, this crew needs to do a better job against the opposing point guard than it did against Kyrie Irving. The Cavs’ floor general was stopped most of the game, but when it mattered most late in the fourth quarter, he stepped up and exploited Lillard in the final few minutes.
[ad-6571516]
Ricky Rubio isn’t the caliber player that Irving is, but he’ll certainly make the Blazers pay if he’s allowed to take open shots; or more likely, if he’s allowed to drive to the rim, creating looks for others.

Minnesota

Kevin Love is healthy, and he’s putting up video game-like numbers. The big man is scoring 25 points per contest, and he’s knocking down 37.8 percent of his 6.5 three-pointers per game along the way. On the boards, he may be the only player in the NBA right now who can combat the tandem of Aldridge and Robin Lopez. He’s pulling down 13.6 per contest, and he’ll look to keep that going against two of the game’s better offensive rebounders.

On the season, the Timberwolves are just 24th when it comes to defending the three-point line. That’s going to be a problem in this one considering how spot-on Portland has been all year.

Minnesota comes into this one having lost to the Boston Celtics by four, but they have more momentum than you might think. They had won three of their previous four entering that contest, with their only loss being by single digits to the San Antonio Spurs.

The Wolves may not be the obvious choice here, but consider this: The Blazers’ last two games have come down to the wire, and they’ve relied on miracle shots to come away with the wins. They’re also on their last game of a four-game road trip (including a back-to-back), while the Wolves are looking to take advantage of a home game in the midst of a road stand.

Call me crazy, but this one has the makings of an upset.

Prediction: Minnesota 105 – Portland 98