The Boston Celtics visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday in a non-conference matchup where both teams could do with a boost at the start of 2025.
The Celtics sit in second place in the East but have lost ground to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the battle for the top seed after going 3-4 over their last seven games.
Minnesota saw a three-game winning streak ended by the conference-best Oklahoma City Thunder in their last game, and they sit in eighth in the West with a 17-15 record.
Let’s take a look at the odds and best bets to make for the Celtics-Timberwolves game.
There is a bit of an element of the unknown in this game as Boston’s trip to the Target Center is their first road game against a Western Conference rival, and it starts a four-game swing at teams they could potentially meet in the NBA Finals as they then face the Houston Rockets, Thunder, and Denver Nuggets.
Boston is 2-2 against teams from the West at TD Garden and they edged out Minnesota by two points at home back in November. The reigning champs may be able to win by a slightly bigger margin on Thursday.
The Timberwolves have a hugely talented team but consistency has been a major issue all season. Minnesota have two defeats in their last three at home and both of those losses have come by at least 10 points, to Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks.
The Celtics come into the game after rounding off 2024 with the biggest home win in franchise history, a 54-point annihilation of Toronto Raptors, and they can back that up by covering the -4.0 spread in Minneapolis.
Minnesota may still be searching for their best but star player Anthony Edwards is still putting in some huge performances, and his personal battle with Boston’s Jaylen Brown should be fun to watch on Thursday.
Edwards is averaging 24.8 points per game and is shooting a career-best 41.5 percent from three-point range.
The T-Wolves' leading scorer should be able to sink a few from downtown and backing Edwards to manage at least four threes looks a strong play as he has hit at least four in four of his last six games - including his last two at the Target Center.
Jrue Holiday hasn’t been a huge scorer since he was traded from the Milwaukee Bucks to Boston but Over 10.5 points looks a very achievable goal for the guard against Minnesota.
Holiday averages 12.3 points per game this season and he’s scored at least 11 in six of his last eight games, only failing to do so in back-to-back games against the Chicago Bulls.
Holiday has 30 points in total across his last two games and, for anyone looking for a bigger price, is also worth a look at +400 to score Over 16.5 points.
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Boston Celtics | -180 ML |
Minnesota Timberwolves | +150 ML |
Spread | BOS Celtics -4.0 |
Total Points | O/U 219.0 |
Jayson Tatum (BOS) | O/U 26.5 |
Anthony Edwards (MIN) | O/U 25.5 |
Jaylen Brown (BOS) | O/U 22.5 |
Julius Randle (MIN) | O/U 19.5 |
Derrick White (BOS) | O/U 15.5 |
Kristaps Porzingis (BOS) | O/U 14.5 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.