The Milwaukee Bucks will face off against the Minnesota Timberwolves in an interconference matchup on Friday. Minnesota is 39-16 overall and 19-5 at home, while Milwaukee is 35-21 overall and 12-14 on the road. The Timberwolves defeated the Bucks, 129-105, in Milwaukee on Feb. 8 in their first meeting of the season.
Tip-off is set for 10 p.m. ET on Friday at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Minnesota is a 4-point favorite in the latest Bucks vs. Timberwolves odds, according to the SportsLine consensus, and the over/under is 225.5 points. Before entering any Timberwolves vs. Bucks picks, you need to see the NBA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s advanced computer simulation model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 18 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 60-36 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning nearly $2,300. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Milwaukee vs. Minnesota. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA odds and betting lines for Bucks vs. Timberwolves:
Timberwolves vs. Bucks spread: Timberwolves -4
Timberwolves vs. Bucks over/under: 225.5 points
Timberwolves vs. Bucks money line: Timberwolves: -173, Bucks: +146
MIL: The Bucks are 2-2 ATS over their last four games
MIN: The Timberwolves are 4-0 ATS over their last four games
Timberwolves vs. Bucks picks: See picks at SportsLine
What to know about the Bucks
The Bucks are playing their first game since the All-Star break, and they may have needed the time off as much as anybody. Things haven’t gone great in the win/loss column since Doc Rivers took over as head coach. The Bucks are 3-7 under Rivers, including dropping back-to-back contests before the All-Star break. A Friday matchup against the Timberwolves, who have the second-best record in the NBA, won’t make things any easier.
Milwaukee still has one of the best duos in the NBA in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard and those two alone can take over a game at a moment’s notice. Antetokounmpo is averaging 30.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and 6.4 assists with Lillard scoring 24.6 points with 6.7 assists. Although it hasn’t often translated into wins, the Bucks’ defense has played better since Rivers became head coach, allowing 113 ppg over his 10 games compared to 120.1 ppg before Rivers took over. Khris Middleton (ankle) is out for Milwaukee. See which team to pick here.
What to know about the Timberwolves
The Timberwolves, however, probably had no interest in suspending their season when the All-Star break arrived. Minnesota entered its week off on a four-game winning streak to expand its lead atop of the Western Conference. This will also be the Timberwolves’ first game back since the break as they’ve had one of the strongest and most surprising starts to the 2023-24 NBA campaign.
Defensive dominance has been the key to Minnesota’s success as it’s allowing the fewest points per game (106.7) and lowest field goal percentage (44.6%) in the NBA this year. Opposing teams have the lowest 2-point field goal percentage against the Timberwolves in part due to the size and paint presence of Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, while allowing the sixth lowest 3-point percentage. The Timberwolves allow the second-fewest points in the paint and rebounds per game as the Bucks will have to find ways to control Minnesota’s size if they want to pull out a victory on Friday. See which team to pick here.
How to make Timberwolves vs. Bucks picks
The model has simulated Bucks vs. Timberwolves 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over, and it also says one side of the spread hits over 60% of the time. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.