NBA Game Pick: Timberwolves vs Heat
It’s been another lackluster year at best for the Minnesota Timberwolves as the team waits to find out its 2010 NBA Draft position and for Spanish star and former draft pick Ricky Rubio to finally make up his mind.
Meanwhile for the Heat, Dwyane Wade is single-handedly keeping the team alive in the East while also keeping an eye on the future and what he wants to do in free agency in 2010.
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The two teams meet tonight in Miami with Wade’s Heat a solid favorite in the NBA betting lines, but as we all know, the oddsmakers, while smart, don’t know everything.
So, who has the edge in tonight’s matchup of North vs. South?
Minnesota Timberwolves (13-44 SU, 29-28 ATS) at Miami Heat (29-28 SU, 29-28 ATS)
NBA Betting Line: Miami Heat favored at -7. The over/under NBA betting line is 191 ½ points.
7:35 p.m. ET.
While the Heat are just 5-5 SU in their last ten, they have won 3 of their last 4 ATS and are peaking at the right time seemingly.
Minnesota is a somewhat respectable (for them anyway) 4-6 overall SU in their last ten games, but they have lost six straight SU and seem to be in a tailspin as the drudgery of a long NBA season takes its toll on their young guys like Jonny Flynn and Kevin Love among others.
The Timberwolves are an extremely young team and there’s strong evidence that many of their young players are hitting the proverbial wall that comes with a long NBA season.
That’s bad news against a Heat team that is full of veterans like Udonis Haslem and Jermaine O’Neal along with Wade who have been through the playoff grind numerous times.
These guys aren’t getting any younger but their experience and basketball IQ in a game like this toward the end of February should make a big difference.
With averages of 26 points and over 6 assists on the season, it’s not secret that as Dwyane Wade goes, the Miami Heat go. With that in mind, the T’Wolves will need to do everything in their power to try and slow him down.
Young Corey Brewer has stepped up as a defender for the T’Wolves, and his length could bother Wade and lead to a T’Wolves victory against the NBA betting lines with a good team effort.
But with the Wolves’ lack of athletic shot blockers inside and the friendly home whistles, Wade should be able to get his points and set up his teammates tonight.
The Heat aren’t a great home team with an ATS record of 12-14 and a SU record of 14-12, but the Timberwolves are an abysmal 4-24 on the road SU and 12-15 ATS on the road.
That matchup ends up being a push, and with the Heat’s better recent play and more talented all-around roster, a solid, easy win is likely today in South Beach.
NBA Basketball Expert Pick: Miami Heat (-7) and the under (191 ½ points).
