Minnesota Timberwolves vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 4/19/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Saturday, April 19, 2025

Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ABC

Odds/Point Spread: Minnesota (+4.0)

The Los Angeles Lakers (50-32) will go up against the Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33) at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round. Los Angeles opens as 4-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The betting total is set at 217.

The Timberwolves took the court against the Jazz and earned the victory with a final of 116-105 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Timberwolves walked away with 16 and the Jazz had 15 fouls. They buried 16 of 42 attempts from beyond the arc. Utah shot 81.8% at the charity stripe by making 9 of their 11 attempts. On top of that, Utah totaled 40 boards (9 offensive, 31 defensive) and got 9 blocks. Utah distributed 24 assists and had 6 steals in the matchup. In regard to defense, Minnesota let their opponent shoot 44.9% from the floor on 40 of 89 shooting. They also doled out 23 dimes for the contest while creating 14 turnovers and earning 9 steals. When discussing pulling down boards, they collected 54 with 17 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Timberwolves converted 11 of their 16 attempts for a rate of 68.8%. Minnesota walked away from the contest having earned a 46.9% FG percentage (46 out of 98) and converted 13 out of their 43 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Anthony Edwards is one player who was important for the matchup. Edwards finished shooting 48.4% from the field and totaled 5 dimes. He played 40 mins and also collected 6 rebounds. He accumulated 43 points on 15 of 31 shooting.

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Minnesota enters this contest with a record of 49-33 this season. They turn it over 14.5 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 18.3 fouls every game. As a team, Minnesota is pulling in 44.3 boards per contest and has tallied 2,142 assists this year, which is 17th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. The Timberwolves are shooting 37.7% on shots from beyond the arc (1,233 of 3,269) and 78.9% from the free throw line. They have an average of 114.3 pts per contest (13th in the NBA) while connecting on 46.8% from the field.

Defensively, the Timberwolves are forcing 14.7 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.2 personal fouls. They rank 5th in the league in giving up assists to the opposition with 2,032 relinquished for the campaign. The Timberwolves are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 46.0% (3,319 of 7,213) and they concede 42.9 boards per game as a unit. They give up 35.3% on 3-point attempts and they rank 5th in the league in points per game from their opponents (109.3).

In their last game, the Lakers went home defeated by a final of 109-81 against the Trail Blazers. When discussing attacking the glass, Los Angeles allowed Portland to collect 56 overall (27 on the offensive side). They went 35.7% from 3-point land by hitting 15 of 42 and walked away from this one shooting 10 of 21 from the free throw line (47.6%). The Lakers permitted the Trail Blazers to knock down 42 out of 96 tries from the floor which had them shooting 43.8% for the game. When the game finished, the Lakers finished the game shooting 31 for 80 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 38.8%. In terms of shooting from downtown, Los Angeles made 9 of 28 attempts (32.1%). They were able to knock down 10 of them for a percentage of 71.4%. The Trail Blazers committed 16 personal fouls for the contest which got the Lakers to the free throw line for a total of 14 attempts. They gave up possession 21 times, while getting 9 steals in this game. The Lakers corralled 29 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards for a total of 42 in the game.

Dalton Knecht was important for the Lakers in the game. Knecht accumulated 27 points in his 37 mins on the court, but went home with no dimes. He converted 9 out of 21 in the game for a rate of 42.9%, and earned 8 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a mark of 50-32 on the year. The Lakers commit 17.3 personal fouls every game and they hit 78.5% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 26.0 times per game (18th in the league) and they are losing possession via turnover 14.0 times per game. Los Angeles has totaled 9,298 pts so far this year (113.4 per game) and they collect 42.4 rebounds per contest. In terms of offensive execution, the Lakers are shooting 47.9% from the floor, which is ranked 9th in basketball.

The Los Angeles defense gives up 35.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter (1,112 of 3,124) and opponents are making 77.5% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 27.3 dimes and 43.0 boards per game, which has them ranked 22nd and 9th in basketball. The Lakers are ranked 10th in the NBA in points allowed per game with 112.2. They are forcing 13.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.3% from the floor (10th in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Los Angeles (-4.0)

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