Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Lakers Picks, Predictions, Odds

Michael Crosson Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

The NBA Play-In Tournament resumes on Tuesday night with a compelling Western Conference clash between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers. Coverage begins from Crypto.com Arena in L. A. at 10:00 p.m. ET on TNT.

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES vs. LOS ANGELES LAKERS BETTING PREDICTION

Call it whatever you want, if it pleases you, put an asterisk on their championship trophy; but make no mistake about it, the Lakers were legitimate title contenders not too long ago, and ever since the departure of Russell Westbrook, they’ve quickly returned to top shelf status in the West.

The Lakers appeared to be dead in the water following an injury to LeBron James at the tail end of February, but since hitting that low point, they’ve actually bounced back with some of their best basketball, sneaking into the Play-In by posting an impressive record of 14-6 since March 1st, while ranking Top 5 in the league in net rating during that span (+5.5 NetRtg), which includes a solid record of 5-2 since LeBron’s return to action.

This Lakers’ squad is far from perfect, though, they still have all the same problems that they had prior to the acquisition of Russell Westrbook: Long range shooting struggles, weakness at the guard position, and overly reliant on a fragile asset in Anthony Davis. However, the Timberwolves’ problems appear to be much greater than that at this point and time.

After missing most of the year due to injury, Karl-Anthony Towns finally returned to action for the Wolves down the stretch, and despite showing the occasional glimpse of greatness, their struggles have persisted at a similar rate, as Minnesota closed the regular season with a lackluster 11-11 run, while ranking 18th in net rating during that stretch (-0.2 NetRtg).

For a variety of reasons, Minnesota has failed to put all of the pieces together and truly play like a team throughout the year, and it looks like this matchup will be no different, as Rudy Gobert got hit with a one-game suspension following an incident in the Wolves’ final regular season contest, causing him to miss Tuesday’s affair.

Personally, I never hated the moves made by this Wolves’ squad at face value. Over the last few years, Minnesota has been anchored by a fragile big man that basically serves as a turnstile at the defensive end of the floor. So what do they do? They go out and acquire a 3-time Defensive Player of the Year winner as an attempt to balance out their superstar’s flaws.

Did it work? Not quite, but to be fair, Gobert and Towns didn’t play together much throughout the year. So, the fact that they’ll be missing one of the two on Tuesday night seems to blend perfectly with the Wolves’ overarching narrative throughout the year. Back the home team in this one.

Score Prediction: Lakers 119, Timberwolves 109
Best Bet: Lakers -7.5 (-110)

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MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES vs. LOS ANGELES LAKERS BETTING ODDS

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES vs. LOS ANGELES LAKERS BETTING RESOURCES

Date: Tuesday, April 11, 2023
Venue: Crypto.com Arena
Location: Los Angeles, California
TV-Time: TNT, 10:00 p.m. ET
Matchup
Expert Picks

NBA Finals Betting Odds

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES vs. LOS ANGELES LAKERS BETTING STATS

Minnesota Timberwolves
SU: 42-40
ATS: 40-42
O/U: 38-43-1
PPG: 115.8
OPPG: 115.9

Los Angeles Lakers
SU: 43-39
ATS: 40-41-1
O/U: 43-38-1
PPG: 117.2
OPPG: 116.6

Straight Up (SU), Against the Spread (ATS), Over-Under (O/U)
Points Per Game (PPG), Opponents Points Per Game (OPPG)

Updated on 09/21/2025

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MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES vs. LOS ANGELES LAKERS BETTING TRENDS

• The total has gone UNDER in six of Minnesota's last eight games.
• The Timberwolves are 7-3 SU in their last ten games.
• The total has gone OVER in eight straight Lakers' games.
• The Lakers are 6-1 SU in their last seven games.
• The total has gone UNDER in six of the Lakers' last seven games against Minnesota.
• The Lakers are 5-1 SU in their last six home games.
• The Timberwolves are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games against the Lakers.
• The Timberwolves are 5-2 SU in their last seven games against the Lakers.
• The Timberwolves are 5-1 ATS in their last six road games.

Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson began his time at VegasInsider as a freelance NBA writer back in 2019 while he continued to study Psychology and Biology at James Madison University. Following his graduation in 2021, Michael joined the team full-time, and he's been with VI ever since. Michael still writes NBA, NFL, and MLB for VI, as well as gambling industry news. He's also become a crucial part of our editorial production team. More from Michael Crosson