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Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Picks, Predictions, Odds and Player Props

The 2024/25 NBA season is finally here, with the Los Angeles Lakers hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves in one of Tuesday's opening games in a matchup that could easily be a potential playoff series next spring. 

Both of these teams made plenty of headlines this summer.

The Lakers hired a new head coach with no collegiate or professional coaching experience in JJ Redick, and they drafted LeBron James' son, Bronny James, to bring together the first father-and-son teammates in NBA history.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, after losing in five games in the Western Conference Finals to the Dallas Mavericks last postseason, traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo just before training camp began.

Let’s get into the odds and our best bets for this opening night matchup in Los Angeles. 

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Lakers betting picks and predictions

Los Angeles Lakers to win (+105)

While the Timberwolves should be the better team in the long run this season, taking the Lakers on the money line as home underdogs on opening night is simply too good to pass up. 

Los Angeles is essentially bringing back the same team around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which is exceedingly rare for any team built around James these days. New head coach JJ Redick should certainly go through some growing pains, but he does have the advantage of coaching a team with continuity while going up against a team in the midst of a roster shakeup on Tuesday.

Adapting to life without former franchise center Towns could be an issue early on for the Timberwolves, especially while trying to work Randle and DiVincenzo into the new rotation. 

While Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch could struggle with finding the right rotations in a live game setting for the first time this season, the Lakers have an established group that should play the majority of the game. 

Even at his advanced age, James is still a player that Minnesota will have trouble guarding, and the same can be said for Davis. We can expect Rudy Gobert to be put into the ball screen action, as James, Davis, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell should all be able to generate quality looks by attacking Minnesota’s drop coverage.

And while Anthony Edwards should shine for Minnesota on the other end, he’s also going to need to adapt to life with new teammates and what their strengths and weaknesses are. 

Ultimately, this is a game that projects to be extremely close down the stretch, and it’s hard not to back James and the Lakers as underdogs in that case.

Under 223.5 total points (-110)

The game script for both teams winning this one brings us to the Under at the current number, especially considering what these offenses did a season ago. 

Minnesota was 17th in offensive rating last season, while the Lakers checked in at 15th, squarely in the middle of the pack. Furthermore, neither team generated a ton of extra possessions, as Minnesota was 21st in offensive rebounding percentage, while Los Angeles was nearly dead last in that same metric.

The Timberwolves were also 23rd in pace, which suggests that they’ll play at a pretty slow tempo again this season, especially given that there should be some clunkiness early on with incorporating two new players into the rotation.

On the other side, Minnesota’s defense was elite a season ago, as the Timberwolves were tops in the league in defensive rating. That is a metric that should still hold up, especially with Gobert patrolling the paint and the likes of Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker on the perimeter. 

Regardless of what team wins this game, there are plenty of paths for Under 223.5 to hit on Tuesday. 

Read more betting picks and predictions for the NBA on site.

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Lakers odds

Minnesota Timberwolves 

-125 ML

Los Angeles Lakers

+105 ML

Spread

MIN Timberwolves -2.5

Total Points

O/U 223.5

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Lakers player props

Player Points

Anthony Edwards (MIN Timberwolves)

O/U 28.5

Anthony Davis (LA Lakers)

O/U 24.5

LeBron James (LA Lakers)

O/U 24.5

D’Angelo Russell (LA Lakers)

O/U 16.5

Austin Reaves (LA Lakers)

O/U 15.5

Rudy Gobert (MIN Timberwolves)

O/U 12.5

Read the latest NBA news on site.

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.

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