Filip Tomic
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It’ll be a rematch of last year’s Western Conference playoff series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies. The two teams lock horns for the first time this season, and you can catch this game live at 9:30 pm ET on ESPN. I’ve prepared a Same Game Parlay for this occasion.
Don’t forget to check our NBA Picks page for predictions on the side and total for tonight’s 8-game slate.
Let’s dive into the Wolves vs Grizzlies matchup now.
Desmond Bane Over 22.5 Points (-115)
Anthony Edwards Under 23.5 Points (-122)
Karl-Anthony Towns 2+ Made Threes (-245)
Rudy Gobert Over 11.5 Rebounds (-140)
Parlay odds: +758
Desmond Bane Over 22.5 Points (-115)
I would argue that Desmond Bane has made the biggest leap (at least offensively) this season out of any player in the NBA. After averaging 18.2 points per game in 2021-22, he’s now upped that to 24.7 per game, increasing his volume of shots while maintaining the efficiency. There is one stat that jumps out the most though – he’s scored the most 4th quarter points out of any player this season (89) and currently averages an NBA-high 9.9 per game. That is quite astonishing for a player that shares the court with one of the biggest offensive talents in the league Ja Morant, but it hasn’t slowed him down one bit this season. I’m expecting another big time performance from him, he has scored over 22.5 points in 6 of 8 games, in 4 of those he went over 30 points.
Anthony Edwards Under 23.5 Points (-122)
Ant-man has been the complete opposite of Desmond Bane for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. He’s coming off a disappointing 11-point game against the Phoenix Suns, but his body language is more concerning than his production right now. In Sunday’s game against the Houston Rockets, he stood motionless holding his hands on his hips for an entire possession on offense, suggesting he isn’t getting the ball nearly enough as he should be. That kind of behavior came under a lot of criticism, both from the media but also his teammates. For a young player like Edwards, who is still just 21 years old, that can be very detrimental and his confidence is probably shaken right now. He’s scored under 20 points in 3 straight, over his last 6 he’s gone under 23.5 points 4 times, and in the 2 games he went over he finished with 24 points.
Friday’s NBA Mega-Parlay is available at +993 odds!
Karl-Anthony Towns 2+ Made Threes (-245)
With Edwards struggling offensively, Towns will have to pick up the slack a bit. He too has been criticized a lot lately, but at least he’s giving his full effort on offense. Getting to two threes shouldn’t be too problematic for him in this game. Although he’s failed to reach that number in two straight, before that he scored 2 threes in 8 of 11 games played. So far in November, he’s connecting on almost 40% of his three-point attempts, and in head-to-head meetings against the Grizzlies he’s had at least 2 threes in 4 of the last 5 while shooting an impressive 45.2% from downtown.
Rudy Gobert Over 11.5 Rebounds (-140)
Even though he hasn’t lived up to expectations with his new team yet, you can’t really question the rebounding of Rudy Gobert. In 10 games played this season, he’s failed to reach double digits just 3 times, he’s averaging a league high 13.6 per game. He’s also had some monster games against the Grizzlies recently, averaging 14.2 boards per game, and the last time he faced them as a member of the Utah Jazz, he finished with 21 boards. If there’s one weakness on defense that Memphis has this season, it’s rebounding the basketball. They rank only 18th in the NBA in opponent total rebounds per game allowing 52.8 a night. I’m hoping Gobert can exploit that and get to his usual 12-13 rebounds here.
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