Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction: Injury Reports, Starting 5s, Betting Odds & Picks - January 4 | 2022-23 NBA Season
Two struggling Western Conference teams will battle tonight (January 4), as the Portland Trail Blazers are in Minneapolis to face the Minnesota Timberwolves. Both teams are fresh off much-needed wins.
The Trail Blazers lost four of five before Monday's win over the DetroitPistons. However, they've been incapable of winning on the road lately, dropping four straight away from Portland. They're clinging to seventh in the West.
The Timberwolves, meanwhile, also won on Monday, snapping a six-game losing streak. Their win came over the top-seeded Denver Nuggets came despite playing without D'Angelo Russell or Karl-Anthony Towns. Their season record stands at 17-21 entering this game.
Both teams can build momentum with a strong performance tonight. Let's see which team is in a better position to do so.
Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Match Details
Fixture: Portland Trail Blazers @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Date and Time: Wednesday, January 4; 8:00 pm EST
Venue: Target Center
Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Injury Report
Both teams have four players listed on their injury report. The Blazers have two players ruled out, while the other two are probable and questionable. Starting center Jusuf Nurkic is listed as probable.
The Timberwolves, meanwhile, have two players questionable and two ruled out, including star Karl-Anthony Towns.
Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Betting Odds
Odds are courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook
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Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Starting 5s
Trail Blazers - PG: Damian Lillard, SG: Anferee Simons, SF: Josh Hart, PF: Jerami Grant, C: Jusuf Nurkic
Minnesota - PG: D'Angelo Russell, SG: Austin Rivers, SF: Anthony Edwards, PF: Jaden McDaniels, C: Rudy Gobert
Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction
The two teams met twice in Portland early in December, where the Timberwolves had no answer for the Trail Blazers' offense.
Portland put up over 120 points in both games and went 34-80 from the 3-point range. 3-point defense is an area Minnesota has had issues with all season, and Portland has the third-highest team 3-point percentage in the league.
Unless Portland is cold tonight, they should make it rain again en route to an elusive road win this winter.
Prediction: Portland Trail Blazers -1.0 (-110)
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