It’s a potential Western Conference playoff preview on Tuesday night in the second game of an NBA on TNT doubleheader as Minnesota visits the Los Angeles Clippers. The spread is in flux as the Wolves might be without All-Star center Rudy Gobert again.

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Clippers Game Information

we fall, we get back up. pic.twitter.com/wIXgwtDmAY

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) March 11, 2024

• When: Tuesday, March 12th, 2024, 10:00 PM ET
• Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
• TV: TNT, TRUtv
• Radio: KFAN FM 100.3 (Timberwolves) // KLAC 570 AM (Clippers)
• Stream: NBA League Pass
• NBA Odds: Timberwolves (+6.5) // Clippers (-6.5)

Why Bet on the Minnesota Timberwolves?

Minnesota played without both of its star big men on Sunday at the Los Angeles Lakers in Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert and predictably was beaten 120-109, the team’s second straight loss. Towns will not play Tuesday or in the immediate future as he’s set for surgery on a torn meniscus this week and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. Thus, even in a best-case scenario, Towns will likely still be working his way back from injury when the playoffs start.

As long as the Wolves are without Towns, they will also be without their most imposing structural advantage: the sheer size of their All-NBA front court duo, which GM Tim Connelly put in place by trading most of Minnesota’s draft capital for Gobert two summers ago. Gobert was out Sunday with right hamstring tightness and Kyle Anderson sat with right shoulder pain. Both are day-to-day.

Gobert has 44th double-doubles this season, fourth most in the NBA. He also has 1,583 career blocks, moving him past Benoit Benjamin (1,581) for 35th on the NBA’s all-time list. He is the anchor of a defense that has held an opponent under 40% shooting from the field 20 times this season, the most by any club in the NBA. The Timberwolves are 17-3 in those 20.

Anthony Edwards had 25 points in Sunday’s loss. The former No. 1 overall pick played through his ankle injury and fought to keep Minnesota relevant in the game, but the team’s front court losses loomed large as the Wolves folded against a barrage from Anthony Davis and LeBron James.

Davis had a feast with 27 points, 25 rebounds (10 offensive), seven steals, five assists and three blocks. The Lakers shot 53% on the night. The Wolves were ahead by a point at the start of the fourth quarter but opened it 0-for-9 from the field. That enabled the Lakers to go on a 16-2 run and pull away for good. That defeat dropped Minnesota to third in the West.

I think a lot of it was fatigue,” guard Mike Conley said. “I think guys, when you get tired, you start giving up offensive rebounds, you start not getting back on defense as quickly as you should, and they took advantage of that.”

Edwards has three 40-point games this season, tying a career high. Only Kevin Love (six games; 2013-14) and Andrew Wiggins (five games (2016-17) have had more 40+ point games in a single season in Timberwolves franchise history.

Why Bet on the Los Angeles Clippers?

The Clippers played the second of a back-to-back on Sunday afternoon vs. Milwaukee and rested both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in the 124-117 loss, but both should play Tuesday. Damian Lillard scored 16 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Bucks. He hit three of his seven 3-pointers in the fourth, while Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Antetokounmpo and Lillard became only the second pair of teammates since 1980 to record at least 30 points and 10 assists apiece in the same game, according to the NBA.

Norman Powell had a season-high 26 points in the loss. Powell came into Sunday’s contest shooting 44.6 percent from three on 5.0 attempts per game, but he’s gone 5-for-23 over his last two games. Ivica Zubac had 18 points and six rebounds. Despite not being a main offensive option, Zubac is averaging a career-high 11.7 points per game to go along with 9.2 rebounds this season. James Harden had 13 points and 11 assists. He’s struggling of late, hitting just 40% of his shots over the past nine games.

The Clippers rank second in the NBA in 3P% (38.9), fifth in plus/minus differential (4.7), sixth in steals (7.9) and tied for fifth in FG% (49.2). They are 22-9 at home and tied for fifth in the NBA at home in 3P% (38.6) and in FG% (50.0), and seventh in plus/minus differential (6.3).

This concludes the regular-season series between the clubs with the Timberwolves winning the first two but Los Angeles winning the most recent matchup 89-88 in the Twin Cities on March 3. Leonard had 32 points and Powell 24, but George shot just 5 of 16 from the field and was 3 of 11 from 3-point range. Edwards scored 27 points for Minnesota, while Gobert had 12 points and 16 rebounds. It was a very physical game. That ended the Wolves’ overall four-game winning streak in the series.

Timberwolves vs. Clippers Betting Trends

• Minnesota is 1-7 ATS in the last 8 games.
• The Timberwolves are 2-4 SU in its last 6 games.
• The totals went over in 5 of Minnesota’s last 7 games.
• Los Angeles is 4-10 ATS in the last 14 games.
• The Clippers are 4-2 SU in its last 6 games.
• The totals went under in 6 of the Clippers’ last 9 games.

Timberwolves vs. Clippers Expert Betting Prediction

The Clippers take the win at home against the Timberwolves.

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