Game Time: 9:30 PM ET, Tuesday, April 12th, 2022 

Venue:   Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Where to Watch: TNT

DraftKings:  Spread: Minn -3; Over/Under 230.5 

Fanduel:  Spread:  Minn -3; Over/Under 230.5

BetMGM:  Spread: Minn -2.5; Over/Under 230.5

Clippers: 41-40, 8th place Western Conference

Timberwolves: 46-35, 7th place Western Conference

The NBA Play-in Tournament, night one second game.  The NBA play-in tournament combined with flattening the NBA Draft Lottery Odds a little bit… was put in place to try to prevent teams from tanking.  That worked only a little.  What it has done (last season was the first) is add 6  games to the NBA schedule… which means more revenue for those struggling billionaire owners.  Still it’s fun to think that a 10th place team needs to only win a few games to make the Playoffs.. Then they have a fair shot at advancing until they win the NBA championship.  Funny that the Lakers didn’t make it until at least 10th place!  The league still has to work out how to properly publicize these games so fans start to care.  How it works is that 7th and 8th place play each other and the 9th and tenth place teams play each other.  The winner of 7 vs 8 gets a bid and is done playing.  The loser of 9th vs 10th place is eliminated… then the loser of 7th vs 8th and the winner of 9th vs 10th play each other to see who will take the final playoff spot.  For the playoff standings to change from seasons end one of the bottom two teams would have to win twice.  What this tourney creates is 3 Eastern Games and 3 Western Games when both teams give full effort.  No one rests.  No one sits.  Real play.  Great betting opportunities!  We all win.

The Los Angeles Clippers finished the season in 8th place in the Western Conference right around .500 on the season. (at press time they still have to play OKC, but the outcome won’t affect the standings either way.  They have won 5 of their last 10 games and are on a 4-game winning streak (not including OKC).  They went 4-6 ATS during that stretch.  The Clippers could have been one of the top if not the absolute top team in the league this season.  They spent the majority of the season missing their two best players and two-perennial all-star players SG Kawhi Leonard and SF Paul George.  Both are 20+ points scorers and both are aces on the defensive end.  They would have been a bigger Big Two than the duo in Boston and almost as big as the Duo in Philly.  At this season's trade deadline the Clippers jettisoned some unwanted expiring contracts and got back SG/SF Norman Powell from the Portland Trail Blazers.  Norman hit the court running with an immediate 30 point game in his first game in a Clipper uniform.  Then he hurt his foot and missed the rest of the season until two games ago.  The team finishing around .500 and in 8th place speaks to an amazing depth!  PG Reggie Jackson, SG Luke Kennard, C Ivica Zubac, SF Terrance Mann, PF Marcus Morris SR.. the list goes on and on, quality NBA players everywhere.  The bonus of this play-in tournament is that SF Paul George and SG Norman Powell are back! The mystery for fans is will Kawhi Leonard try to make an appearance in a uniform?... If he does… This battle tested team with three heavily rested stars immediately becomes a Finals contender… If he doesn’t… they are at least the toughest out in the West not named Phoenix or Memphis.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have finally flipped the proverbial switch.  After starting the season like they always do (looking sloppy)... somewhere along the way they found themselves! They began winning and kept winning. They only won 5 of their last ten games, going 3-7 ATS during that stretch, but that was after a very dominant February and 1st half of March.  The Timberwolves have C Karl-Anthony Towns, the league's best shooting big man… and though Karl is not in the same class as Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic… he is in the very next class of Center down.  Karl is a 25 pt, 10 rbs guy.  The reason the team is finally rising: 2nd year man SF Anthony Edwards has come into his own and is now a reliable 21.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 3.9 apg.  He will soon be the unequivocal star of this club… Can AE and KAT combine to do damage in this seasons’ playoffs?  That will all depend on the support they get from PG De’Angelo Russell and other PG Patrick Beverley.  The team is great at scoring, but terrible at defense.  It is up to Russell and Beverley to step up on D.  Otherwise Minnesota will be done quick… The playoffs are where Defense finally counts.

Scorching-hot!  Power Sports has ripped off 11 of 13 NBA Winners, and is also 7-1 its last 8 NBA totals.  Now, for the NBA Play-In Tournament, Bryan's firing on an NBA Power-House Total.  Don't miss it.  You can discover the best  picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB, college football… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

The Clippers are 41-40 on the season, but 40-41 ATS.  They have logged 37 Overs, 41 Unders, and 3 Push.  They are 17-24 in road games.

The Timberwolves are 46-35 on the season, but 42-37-2 ATS.  They have notched 49 Overs, 32 Unders.  They are 26-14 in home games.

The Clippers are 23rd in scoring with 108.0 ppg, 21st in rebounds with 43.8 per game, and 20th in AST/TO ratio with 1.7.  On defense they rank 11th while allowing 108.6 ppg from opponents.

The Timberwolves are 1st in scoring with 115.9 ppg, 14th in rebounds with 44.3 per game, and 14th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8.  On defense they rank 24th while allowing 113.2 ppg from opponents.

Our prediction for Tuesday, April 12th is…..   Clippers 123 - T-Wolves 117

This is a classic matchup with Minnesota being all offense with little defense… while Los Angeles is only Ok on offense, but pretty good at defense… Except these numbers simply don't hold the offensive punch Norman Powell and Paul George will bring to this game… not to mention that Paul George is a world class defender.  Minnesota will not be ready for the new-look Clippers… or the battle tested toughness that will be coming off the bench.  Bet on the Clippers and you will most likely get a few points on the spread as well.  Plus Minnesota has a history of folding when the pressure is on… just knowing they get an automatic second chance if they lose this game may make all the psychological difference.

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The Clippers are 7-3 ATS versus Minnesota over the last three seasons.
6 of 10 games in this series have gone Over the last three seasons.
The Timberwolves are 12-25 ATS at home off a home loss, and 18-38 ATS at home off an ATS loss.

Timberwolves: No injuries to report.

Clippers: SF Kawhi Leonard (knee) Quest… but probably OUT

Clippers: PF Marcus Morris Senior, SF Paul George, C Ivica Zubac, SG Norman Powell, PG Reggie Jackson

Timberwolves: PF Jarred Vanderbilt, SF Anthony Edwards, C Karl-Anthony Towns, PG Patrick Beverley, PG De’Angelo Russell

Clippers: Tye Lue

T-Wolves: Chris Finch