Filip Tomic
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The series between the Timberwolves and Suns has the potential to go 7 games and it all starts on Saturday as the two teams lock horns at Target Center for Game 1. Tip-off is at 3.30 pm ET on ESPN, to spice things up I’ve prepared a Same Game Parlay which you can find below.
For predictions on the side and total for the rest of Saturday’s NBA Playoffs games simply visit our NBA Picks page. Let’s dive into my SGP bet now!
MIN Timberwolves -1.5 (-112)
Rudy Gobert To Record 12+ Rebounds (-145)
Grayson Allen 2+ Made Threes (-390)
Mike Conley Over 2.5 Made Threes (-111)
Same Game Parlay odds: +503
MIN Timberwolves -1.5 (-112)
Minnesota worked really hard to get to where they ended the regular season and despite finishing 3rd in the West they are still overlooked by many people. At home the Timberwolves have 30 wins in 41 games, plus only the Celtics and Thunder have a better Net Rating in home games this season. This is the coming out party for Anthony Edwards as well, the Suns were able to shut him down in the 3 regular season meetings, so there’s a huge chip on his shoulder to do well here.
Look, there’s a reason why Minnesota finished 3rd and that’s their defense. They’ve held opponents to 108.4 points per 100 possessions this season, the gap between them and the 2nd best team (Boston) is 2.2 points, which is also the difference between the 2nd and 10th best teams on that list. I’ll take the Timberwolves to open the postseason with a home win here.
Rudy Gobert To Record 12+ Rebounds (-145)
The match-up between Rudy Gobert and Jusuf Nurkic down low could decide in which direction this series swings and I’m going with the more decorated player in the series opener. Despite being a 3-time DPOY, Gobert still has a lot of doubters and that’ll just motivate him to do even better this postseason. He ended the year in dominant fashion, averaging 13 rebounds in his last 10 regular season games. The Suns were able to neutralize him in their last meeting when he had just 7 boards, but he was able to clear this line fairly easily in 7 of his last 10 games. In his last 2 postseason games the Frenchman finished with 15 rebounds each game, battling Nikola Jokic. I think we can all agree that Nurkic isn’t in the same stratosphere as him, so hopefully Gobert stands his ground here and cleans up the glass.
Grayson Allen 2+ Made Threes (-390)
After a very successful regular season in which he averaged 13.5 points on 50% shooting from the field and an insane 46.1% from three, Allen just inked a new contract with the Phoenix Suns. The deal is reported to be worth around $70m across four seasons, what better way to celebrate that accomplishment with a solid outing in the series opener? Allen has enjoyed playing the Timberwolves this season, he averaged 19 points on 56% shooting from the field and over 62% from downtown in 3 meetings. The Timberwolves defense has a lot to deal with here with the likes of Durant, Booker and Beal all being threats on offense, so role players like Allen have the easiest job in the NBA. There’s no doubt in my mind he makes at least a couple of threes here.
Mike Conley Over 2.5 Made Threes (-111)
Postseason is all about experience and for this young Timberwolves team, Mike Conley is of great importance. The veteran point guard has been on fire from three-point land, knocking down at least 3 threes in 6 of his last 10 regular season games, while shooting over 50% in 6 of them. He also had 4 threes against the Suns the last time they met, we can only hope his form carries over to the postseason. Phoenix finished the regular season with a mediocre 36.4% opponent three-point efficiency, ranking them only 16th in the NBA. Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns will get the majority of the shots, but the ball will still spend the most time on offense in Conley’s hands and that’s always a positive sign when doing these type of bets. Fingers crossed Conley is more assertive on offense and takes a bunch of threes in the series opener.
