It’s the second half of a home-and-home between the Miami Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves took care of business in the away portion, dialing up a 125-115 victory in South Beach behind 33 points from Anthony Edwards. Now they’ll try to take down the Heat at home, but this is not the kind of team that rolls over.
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET. Minnesota enters as a 5.5-point home favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, while Miami is listed as a +185 underdog. The game’s total is set at 237.5 points. Let’s get into a pick and prediction for this matchup.
Heat vs. Timberwolves prediction, preview
The injury report will have a significant bearing on this one. Miami is close to a Tyler Herro return, but coach Erik Spoelstra did not feel he was ready for their past game. Tuesday could be his return game, which would change his team’s fortunes. Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s status also bears watching; he twisted his ankle in Saturday’s matchup and did not return. With no Herro and no Jaquez, Miami would be down two of its best driving threats. That would be a real problem against Minnesota’s defense.
Assuming those two are out, the Heat could be reliant on a lot of players who cannot reliably break the paint. You need someone who can move Rudy Gobert around and force help defenders to make decisions. Davion Mitchell can be that guy in spurts, but not for a whole game. Andrew Wiggins and Bam Adebayo don’t quite create that kind of rim pressure. Norman Powell can, but he will see a whole lot of Jaden McDaniels as a defensive matchup. That’s a big, big problem for the Heat.
Then you have the Anthony Edwards problem. Mitchell is the kind of defender who can turn him into Can’t Man, but he was 110% the Ant Man on Saturday. If they get a repeat performance out of Edwards, the Wolves have to feel good about their chances of winning.
Heat vs. Timberwolves pick, best bet
On paper, the Timberwolves already have the better team. Then you add in the fact that their best player is on a tear and Miami might be missing two of its most important offensive pieces. Everything is lined up for another Wolves victory by a decent margin.
