The Minnesota Timberwolves (56-26 last season) visit the Los Angeles Lakers (47-35) on NBA Tuesday, tipping off at 10 p.m. ET from Crypto.com Arena. The game is airing live on TNT and streaming on Max, YouTube TV and other streaming apps.
The Timberwolves are 1-point favorites over the Lakers (+1) on the spread, with the over/under currently at 219 points. The Timberwolves are -112 favorites on the moneyline to win outright, while the Lakers are -108 favorites to pull off the upset.
Let’s break this NBA Opening Night battle down, where I offer a Timberwolves vs. Lakers predictions and NBA picks for Tuesday, October 22.
Timberwolves vs. Lakers Prediction
- Timberwolves vs Lakers Pick: Over 219
My Timberwolves-Lakers best bet is on the over, with the best line currently available at DraftKings. For all of your NBA bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NBA odds page.
Timberwolves vs. Lakers Odds
| Timberwolves Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1 -105 | 219 -108o / -112u | -112 |
| Lakers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1 -115 | 219 -108o / -112u | -108 |
- Timberwolves vs. Lakers spread: Timberwolves -1 (-105), Lakers +1 (-115)
- Timberwolves vs. Lakers over/under: 219 points (-108o / -112u)
- Timberwolves vs. Lakers moneyline: Timberwolves -112, Lakers -108
- Timberwolves vs. Lakers best bet: Over 219
Spread
The spread of -1 is way too close for my liking. I'm going to pass on this.
Moneyline
You can argue that the Timberwolves are set up nicely to win this game. However, with the start of the season, I'm going to pass on betting against LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Over/Under
I am picking the Over in this matchup.
My pick: Over 219 (-108)
Timberwolves vs. Lakers Start Time, Channel, Streaming
| Location: | Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California |
| Date: | Tuesday, October 22 |
| Kickoff Time: | 10 p.m. ET |
| TV / Streaming: | TNT, Max / YouTube TV |
Lakers vs. Timberwolves is scheduled for a 10 p.m. ET start time, live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California on Tuesday. The game is live on TNT and is streaming on Max and YouTube TV.
Timberwolves vs. Lakers NBA Preview
The Minnesota Timberwolves look to build on their most successful season in years last season and travel to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers.
The JJ Redick era begins in L.A., as Redick coaches his first game in the NBA. Can Redick earn a win in his first game, and can he lead a heavily scrutinized Lakers roster to success in his rookie season?
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves offense will revolve around Anthony Edwards heavily, with Karl-Anthony Towns out of the picture.
Julius Randle should be able to provide some scoring support, but outside of him, there isn’t much self-creation in the starting five. The bench unit is going to be exciting to watch and argues for the best bench in the NBA, as they will feature Donte DiVincenzo, Naz Reid, Rob Dillingham, Nickeil-Alexander Walker, and perhaps rookie Terrence Shannon Jr.
That is an ultra-athletic and versatile second lineup, and they should certainly be able to produce offense even when Edwards isn’t on the floor this season. That was an issue last year as the Timberwolves had a good offensive rating of 117.9 with Edwards on the floor but a poor 111.4 offensive rating when Edwards was on the bench, a -6.5 point swing.
The moves they made this off-season have certainly created more quality depth and scoring punch off of the bench. The big question for the Wolves will be whether Randle fits in their system, as he is a significantly worse catch-and-shoot shooter than Towns.
Can Randle and Edwards co-exist is what the front office needs to figure out before the deadline. Focusing on this matchup, Edwards should dominate here, as the Lakers will probably ask Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent to guard him for most of the game. Hachimura lacks the foot speed to stay in front of Edwards, and Vincent lacks the strength to keep him out of the lane.
The Wolves should be able to generate quality 3s as the Lakers ranked bottom-six in 3-point attempt rate and percentage allowed last season. Another big edge for the Wolves should be their bench unit against the Lakers bench unit, as the Lakers bench unit will consist of very inexperienced players like Dalton Knecht and Max Christie, along with Vincent and Jaxson Hayes.
There's just not a lot of experience with that lineup and as mentioned above, I rate the Wolves as one of the better bench units in the league with the explosive duo of Reid and DiVincenzo. The Wolves should dominate those bench minutes.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers offense should look much different under Redick as an organized halfcourt offense becomes more of a priority. Redick has also talked about generating more 3s after the Lakers ranked 28th in 3-point attempt rate last season.
The Lakers ranked fourth and sixth in pace during the last two seasons, so it will be interesting to see if they maintain that pace or make a conscious effort to slow down and run halfcourt sets.
This will be a matchup where they'll need their shooters to drill shots, as the Wolves do not allow rim looks with Rudy Gobert roaming the middle. Anthony Davis and LeBron James will likely be guarded by Gobert and Jaden McDaniels, so the Lakers will likely look towards Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell to shoulder a bit more of the scoring load.
I’d also expect to see a fair bit of Vincent, Christie, and rookie Knecht off of the bench. Knecht had a solid pre-season and has seemingly earned himself a prominent place in the rotation.
Those 3s will be needed here, as it is very difficult to beat this Timberwolves team if you can’t knock down some triples. Look for Reaves and Russell to be featured heavily, as Mike Conley is the weakness of this defense at the point of attack.
