Filip Tomic
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The second NBA game on Opening Night sees the new-look Minnesota Timberwolves battle the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. The Timberwolves made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals last season, and after trading away Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, Minnesota has high hopes for what could come this season. Tip-off is at 10:00 pm ET, live on TNT, right after Knicks vs Celtics, and I’ve prepared a Knicks vs Lakers Same Game Parlay to spice things up. You can get our NBA picks for each game as well as all the big matchups throughout the 2024-25 season, but for now, let’s dive into my SGP.
Anthony Edwards to score 30+ points (+115)
Rui Hachimura over 1.5 made threes (-104)
LeBron James over 7.5 rebounds (+114)
Timberwolves vs Lakers Same Game Parlay odds: +748
Anthony Edwards to score 30+ points (+115)
There’s no bigger stage than Crypto.com Arena on Opening Night for a young star to make a statement. Minnesota has sent out a clear signal that they’re counting on Ant Man to make the next step in his development. Getting rid of Karl-Anthony Towns means that we’ll see a lot more 30+ point performances from Edwards this season and I’m sure he’ll thrive in this role.
In 4 meetings against the Lakers last season, his lowest point total was 25 points and he shot 44% from the field in those games. But more importantly for our bet, he averaged 21.3 field-goal attempts in those games. If that number carries over to this season, he should have no problem clearing this line. Edwards is one of those rare players in today’s NBA who isn’t afraid to take the ball to the basket if the shot isn’t falling. At almost 84% from the free-throw line, he is also one of the most prolific shooters from the charity stripe. The Lakers struggled heavily guarding opposing wings last season and they haven’t done anything this offseason to fix that issue. I’ll take my chances with Edwards on Opening Night.
Rui Hachimura over 1.5 made threes (-104)
A lot will depend on rotation players like Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves this year for the Lakers, at least during the regular season. Hachimura stepped up big time on occasions for LA last year, carrying the scoring load whenever LeBron James or Anthony Davis weren’t able to. He averaged 17 points per game in 4 meetings with the Wolves last year and even had a 30-point explosion in one of those games. His efficiency was also off the charts at just over 53% from the field and 56.3% from downtown. Under new head coach JJ Redick, the Lakers haven’t shown any signs of slowing down their offense, so I’m confident this game on opening night will be played at a high pace. Look for Hachimura to let it fly from distance.
Lock in our best NBA player prop bets for Opening Night
LeBron James over 7.5 rebounds (+114)
A higher-paced game means more rebounds to go around and who better to back in that department than 39-year-old LeBron James? What else is there to be said about a player who is entering his 22nd NBA season without showing any signs of slowing down? Despite the accumulated mileage throughout his career, James isn’t shy of battling down low for loose basketballs. He finished the season last year averaging 7.3 boards per game, while against the Timberwolves that number goes up 8.5 per game over the last 10 meetings.
In the only game played against Minnesota at Crypto.com Arena, he was able to collect 8 rebounds, so that is encouraging. At this stage of his career, I don’t think we’ll see James in transition a lot, which should also help his rebounding numbers. Minnesota was one of the better teams at preventing opponents from grabbing rebounds, but with KAT out of the line-up, they’ll now have to figure out their defensive schemes which could take a while. LeBron’s experience should help him get to 8 rebounds here.
Now read our Knicks vs Celtics Same Game Parlay picks at +598 odds
