NBA Playoffs Betting Preview: Grizzlies vs Timberwolves

The Memphis Grizzlies will look to secure their passage to the second-round of the NBA playoffs when they head to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves in Game 6 of their Western Conference first-round series. The Grizzlies secured another dramatic win in Tuesday’s Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead. They will look to replicate their Game 3 success in this building to avoid returning home for a Game 7, win-or-go-home scenario. Let’s take a look at our Grizzlies vs Timberwolves NBA playoffs betting preview.

Grizzlies vs Timberwolves: Game 6 Analysis

The Grizzlies will look to overcome some more hot shooting from the Timberwolves in Game 6 in order to advance to their first conference semifinals since 2015.

This series has very much been about whether the Timberwolves have had it going from deep. The three-point disparity has played a large role in deciding outcomes on a game-to-game basis.

Minnesota was +27 in 3-point scoring in its Game 1 win in Memphis and +9 in its one-point win in Game 4, where the Timberwolves also owned a significant free throw advantage.

The Grizzlies have otherwise had control of this series despite it still seemingly hanging in the balance to some extent.

Memphis’ last visit to Target Center ended with head coach Taylor Jenkins calling out the officiating as his team was the victim of a strong whistle that saw Minnesota record 40 free throw attempts to emerge with the win.

The Game 5 win from Memphis was arguably its most impressive of the series. The Grizzlies had to overcome a -21 point differential in 3-point scoring in order to escape with the win.

The Grizzlies have opened as 1½-point favorites as they look to close things out. That comes after they closed as 2½-point favorites in Game 4 in this arena.

Despite this series being back on serve with the home teams getting the opportunity to defend their court through to a potential Game 7, the betting markets have heavily moved in favor of Memphis.

The Grizzlies, who need to win just one of the next two to advance, are -700 in NBA betting odds to now win this series after being as high as -125 following their Game 1 loss.

A date with the Golden State Warriors awaits for Memphis should it close this one out, which is also what’s expected according to recent NBA playoffs betting trends.

Early money has come in on Minnesota, though, to force a Game 7 and given the nature of the previous matchups, we should be in for a roller-coaster 48 minutes at the Target Center.