Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves: Prediction Starting Lineups and Betting Tips | January 12, 2024

The Portland Trail Blazers (10-27) travel to the Minnesota Timberwolves (26-11) on Friday. Portland suffered a huge loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, losing by 62 points, in what was certainly a humbling experience. Now, Portland face the top-seeded Timberwolves in another difficult test for their young and developing roster.

Minnesota will look to bounce back from its 127-120 overtime defeat to the Boston Celtics. Chris Finch's team has been exceptional in bouncing back from tough losses this season.

The Trail Blazers offer the perfect opportunity to ensure that the Timberwolves' season keeps heading in the right direction.

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Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves: Game details, prediction and betting tips

Game Details

Teams: Portland Trail Blazers (10-27) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (26-11)

Date and Time: Jan. 12, 2024 | 8:00 p.m. ET

Venue: Target Center, Minnesota

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Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves: Preview

Both the Trail Blazers and the Timberwolves will have a similar rotation to what has been seen in recent games. There are no new injuries on either team.

Portland, though, faces the tough task of trying to break down Minnesota's defense. The double-big lineup of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert has proved to be stifling all season.

However, for Portland, facing a team like Minnesota isn't about winning. That's not where the franchise is at in their timeline. Instead, it's about getting young stars like Scoot Henderson invaluable reps against elite offensive and defensive talent and allowing them to learn from their veteran peers around the NBA.

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Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves: Starting lineups

The Portland Trail Blazers' starting lineup could look like this: Anfernee Simons, Scoot Henderson, Jerami Grant, Toumani Camara and Duop Reath.

Simons and Henderson are a dynamic backcourt that can score and create at a high level. However, they may struggle to contain Anthony Edwards on the defense end, and that could prove costly.

The Minnesota Timberwolves' starting lineup could look like this: Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert.

There's scoring and defense at every position of the Timberwolves' starting five. Chris Finch's team should have no problem shutting down a Trail Blazers team that's on the second night of a back-to-back.

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Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves: Betting tips

Anthony Edwards enters the game against the Trail Blazers with odds of -102 to score over 30.5 points and -120 on the under. He has scored over 30.5 in six of his last 10 games and could thrive against an inexperienced backcourt.

Jerami Grant has odds of -111 to score over 20.5 points against the Timberwolves and -115 on the under. Grant will face the best defensive team in the NBA and could struggle to get to his usual spots.

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Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves: Prediction

The Timberwolves are heavily favored to secure a win over the Trail Blazers. They're -15 on the spread and -1350 on the money line. Minnesota's elite defense and high-octane offense should be too much for the Trail Blazers to handle, especially so soon after facing the Thunder.

It's difficult to envision the Trail Blazers finding a way to be successful against Minnesota. Instead, Portland will likely focus on the learning experience and a tough stretch of basketball to help develop their future stars.