The Portland Trail Blazers are 6-1 straight up and 5-2 against the spread over their last seven games including a current winning streak of four straight games. The Trail Blazers look to earn another win at home over the Minnesota Timberwolves this Thursday night.
Timberwolves vs. Trail Blazers 2018 odds: Portland holds edge on the betting lines
The Portland Trail Blazers will try to stay hot when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night as betting chalk in a key Western Conference matchup.
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Portland is a 4.5-point home favorite at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. In their last 12 games against the Timberwolves, the Trail Blazers are 8-4 SU and 9-3 ATS.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Portland Trail Blazers
When: Thursday, March 1, 10:30 p.m. ET
Where: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Betting Line / Total: Portland -4.5 / 217 Points
Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are one of the most elite point guard tandems in the NBA, combining to average 47.9 points per game between them. The talent of these two guards coupled with a team defense that ranks seventh in the NBA allowing 103.5 points per game has Portland currently sitting in the fifth seed at 35-26 SU and 31-26-4 ATS.
With third place and ninth place in the Western Conference separated by only 3.5 games, the Trail Blazers still have plenty of work to do in securing a favorable playoff spot.
One big reason for the team’s recent climb in the standings has been its play at home. Portland is 11-1 SU and 9-2-1 ATS in its last 12 home games per the OddsShark NBA Database.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota received a crushing blow in its 120-102 defeat to the Houston Rockets, losing its top scorer Jimmy Butler indefinitely to a torn meniscus injury. That loss also saw the team fall to 2-4 SU and 0-6 ATS over its last six games. But in the first two games of Butler’s absence, Karl-Anthony Towns has racked up 48 points and 30 rebounds, helping to lead his team to back-to-back blowout wins over Chicago and Sacramento.
Of course, those two teams sit near the bottom of the standings in the NBA; Thursday’s game against Portland will be a much tougher test.
Thursday’s total is set at 217 points at online betting sites. The OVER is 8-1 in Minnesota’s last nine games.
While the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors run away with the top two spots in the West, the rest of the conference is battling not only to secure a playoff spot but to try to earn home court in the first round as well. Games like this one will go a long way in sorting out the order of the standings down the stretch.
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