Bucks vs Timberwolves Odds: Milwaukee Favored in Boarder Battle

The Milwaukee Bucks enter Friday night’s NBA matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves as the only team in the NBA that has yet to suffer a loss. Giannis Antetokounmpo and company will put their perfect 7-0 record on the line against the 4-4 Timberwolves. Minnesota enters the game coming off two straight losses to the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns. The Bucks vs Timberwolves odds for this game opened with Milwaukee as a slight 3.5-point favorite on the road while the total sits at 227.

The Milwaukee Bucks enter Friday’s matchup without their second-leading scorer from last season, Khris Middleton. Middleton, who averaged 21 points per game last season, has been on the NBA injury reports all season and has yet to play a game for the Bucks. But, that hasn’t mattered a whole lot because the Bucks have shown they have other players that can step up in his absence.

Point guard Jrue Holiday is averaging 20 points per game for the first time since joining the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis is averaging a career-high 33.6 points per game. Brook Lopez is also having a career year on the boards, averaging a career-high three blocks per game. It’s no wonder the Bucks vs Timberwolves odds are in Milwaukee’s favor.

One area in which the Bucks can exploit the Wolves is in transition. The Timberwolves are allowing teams to score the second-most points in transition, which means Milwaukee can try and push the pace of this game. The Bucks also have the edge defensively, owning the best defensive rating in the NBA at 101.3.

Minnesota’s big men of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert are huge parts of the Wolves offense, however, between Giannis, Lopez and Bobby Portis the Bucks should be able to slow them down.

Health a Concern For Wolves

Many players in the league have been hit hard by a non-covid related illness as of late and Gobert and Anthony Edwards are on that list. Gobert was unable to practice with the team on Thursday because of his illness and both players are currently listed as questionable for this game. If they are unable to play, the Bucks vs Timberwolves odds should move heavily in favor of the road team. Check out the Player Stats.

In terms of the total for this game, we lean towards playing the under at 227 if Gobert does in fact play. While the Timberwolves play at the fourth fastest pace in the league they are also a fairly solid defensive team, ranking in the top ten in defensive rating.

With Gobert occupying space in the lane, he’s been a huge factor in eliminating their opponent’s ability to attack the rim. However, when he’s not on the floor, Minnesota is nearly 11 points worse, so be sure to confirm his status before betting on this.

We also mentioned how good Milwaukee’s defense has been and a lot of that stems from the play of Lopez and his ability as a rim protector which has been a major factor in the success of the Bucks on the defensive end.

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