March basketball brings all sorts of strange surprises. The Detroit Pistons and the Minnesota Timberwolves are heading toward the playoffs once again. However, they’ll have to take on this Thursday night matchup without their best players. No Anthony Edwards, no Cade Cunningham. Which of these teams can make the most out of this game?
Minnesota is a 1.5-point home favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, while Detroit sits as a +105 underdog. The total is set at 222.5 points.
Let’s get into a prediction and pick for Saturday’s matchup between the Pistons and Timberwolves.
Pistons vs. Timberwolves preview
There is no underestimating what Cunningham means to the Pistons, nor Edwards to the Timberwolves. But this is a better matchup than you’d expect with the two All-Stars sidelined.
Minnesota has won four of five games during Edwards’ absence, including wins over the Suns, Celtics and Rockets. That win over Houston sure was a wild one, and it showed the resilience of this Timberwolves team. Defensive infrastructure and Julius Randle buckets can take you far, at least in the regular season.
Detroit has also won four of five without its superstar. The wins haven’t been as impressive, but much like the Wolves, its defensive infrastructure remains sound. The Pistons held their opponents to 110 or fewer points in all four of those wins, as their Ausar Thompson-led defense continues to cause problems for the rest of the league.
We know the defenses are going to show up. Rudy Gobert, Jalen Duren, Jaden McDaniels and Thompson are going to bring it. Which secondary scoring option is going to provide enough buckets to prevail? Randle, Tobias Harris, Donte DiVincenzo and Daniss Jenkins are all options. Is that going to be enough to break these defenses?
Pistons vs. Timberwolves pick, best bet
This game has two things going for it when it comes to the total. One, both teams boast incredible defenses. Two, winning this game is of paramount importance to both teams. The Pistons are close to securing the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, which comes with vital rest time before the playoffs start. The Timberwolves are locked into a dogfight for Western Conference positioning.
All of this screams under. These defenses are going to dial it in, and they will look like two teams that sorely miss their star creators. It’s going to be an entertaining contest, but not a high-scoring one.
