Two struggling teams meet when the Dallas Mavericks host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
The pregame narrative: Anthony Edwards is on a tear and I expect him to will the T-Wolves to victory against the Luka Doncic-less Mavs. Bet on Kyrie Irving to clear an alternate point total to round out this +280 wager.
Check out my Timberwolves vs. Mavericks same-game parlay predictions for Jan. 22.
Timberwolves vs. Mavericks predictions
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Parlay: Timberwolves moneyline + Edwards over 3.5 threes + Irving 20+ points (+280)
Timberwolves moneyline (-150): The NBA is a star-dominated league, so I’ll back the team with its top dog available.
Dallas is 10-11 without Doncic in the lineup, including 1-4 across its last five. That includes a pair of double-digit-point losses to the Denver Nuggets and defeats to the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans.
Minnesota hasn’t found its groove this season but still has Edwards, who is having a monster start to 2025 (more on that later).
The T-Wolves beat the Mavericks, 105-99, in Dallas earlier this season with Doncic playing.
SGP legs
Edwards over 3.5 threes (-103): Edwards is back in MVP-calibre form.
The third-year guard is averaging 30.7 PPG this month while shooting 46.5% from deep. He’s hit at least three 3s in nine of 11 games this month, clearing this total eight times.
When backing a player on a 3-point market, bettors want to see either high volume or elite accuracy; Ant Man has both.
Edwards is attempting the fourth-most 3s per game (9.9) and is making them at the 13th-best rate (42.8%).
Dallas ranks 15th in opponent 3-point percentage, so it’s not like this is a tough matchup.
Edwards cleared this mark in both games against the Mavs this year, shooting a combined 11-for-20 from deep (55.0%).
Irving 20+ points (-560): I was debating backing Irving over 2.5 threes (-157) but will opt for a much safer 20-point milestone.
For as heavily juiced as this pick is, it still vaults the SGP from +195 to +280.
The veteran guard is crafty in the midrange and is an elite finisher at the rim. He’s putting up 24.2 PPG this season and has cleared this mark in 23 of 33 starts (69.7%).
The T-Wolves are a great defensive team, but if you were to split hairs, they struggle to defend the mid-range. Check out their defensive metrics courtesy of Cleaning the Glass (NBA ranks in parenthesis):
- 3-point defence: 35.4% (5th)
- Rim defence: 64.6% (8th)
- Mid-range defence: 42.0% (12th)
Irving takes 42% of his shots from the mid-range, which ranks in the 92nd percentile for all NBA players. This should be a cinch.
Picks made at 11:47 a.m. ET 01/22/2025