There is no shortage of moving pieces to consider in this Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Utah Jazz game, but even if everything runs away from the road team, is this spread what it should be?
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Utah Jazz Pick
The ‘Wolves fell to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday and it wasn’t exactly a good showing. They led for exactly zero seconds in a game in which Luka Dončić’ shot 30% from the field and saw Anthony Edwards get ejected in the third quarter.
Not great, Bob. Not great.
The largest impact of Edwards’ actions takes place tonight, as they were in a tough spot to come back last night (down 15) at the time of him being tossed. By cursing at the referee, he earned his 16th technical foul of the season, an infraction that comes with an automatic one-game suspension.
There’s a non-zero chance that he gets that technical foul rescinded today (he was asking for it after the game), but sportsbooks have lined this game under the assumption that Minnesota’s star sits.
I like spots of uncertainty like this, as we get the opportunity to, by betting early, to gain more value should he end up active than we do if he sits. And if he does sit, I’m OK with the lines we have at our disposal currently.
I'll write it up for @PFN365 but for the sake of a current number …
Am I missing something?
MIN: B2B, I get it. Road, yes. But "poor form" came against CLE/MIL/HOU/LAL/OKC (3x)
–> 8 of last 9 wins have come by 8+ (exception: 25-point comeback at OKC, not exactly a negative) pic.twitter.com/tHoVLGM7Yd
— Kyle Soppe (@KyleSoppePFN) February 28, 2025
Minnesota outscored a Los Angeles team that was getting a remarkable effort from LeBron James (33 points, 17 rebounds, and six assists) by six points following Edwards getting tossed. Of course, I don’t think they are better without The Ant Man, but they are not short on interesting young pieces that would have a chance to thrive against maybe the worst team in the NBA.
Terrence Shannon Jr. poured in 25 points last night (9-15 FG, 29 minutes) and was the direct replacement for Edwards.
Rob Dillingham was the eighth-overall pick in June, and while his usage has been spotty, he was effective on Monday night in Oklahoma City against an elite defense (12 points, four rebounds, five assists, and just one turnover in 26 minutes) and has already shown the ability to carve up this Jazz team (Jan. 30: 19 points on 8-11 FG with eight assists in 23 minutes).
The 14-44 Jazz are motivated to keep up their losing ways with the Cooper Flagg prize looming if their tank is fully awarded, thus making it very possible that their dinged up stars (John Collins, Collin Sexton, and Lauri Markkanen) continue to sit or, at the very least, are limited.
If Edwards remains suspended and if all of Utah’s pieces are fully extended, the current line is about where I’d settle, but those are obvious unknowns right now. The Timberwolves are in the middle of an intense five-team battle for Western Conference seeds 6-10 and that has them playing every game with a level of desperation that Utah simply doesn’t have.
Sports gambling is a game of maximizing the outs available to you. I think we have far more moving in our favor than working against us.
Pick: Timberwolves -3 (-110, FanDuel)
