Game Time: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 27th, 2022 

Venue:  TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread:  Celtics -6; O/U 226.5

Fanduel:  Spread:  Celtics -6; O/U 227

BetMGM:  Spread:  Celtics -6.5; O/U 227.5

Timberwolves: 43-32, 7th place Western Conference

Celtics: 46-28, 4th place Eastern Conference

An NBA non-conference matchup between two of the hottest teams in the league since the all-star break.  The Minnesota Timberwolves have been a bad or so-so franchise for the last full decade.  They are always in the lottery.. They always add a young player… sometimes it doesn’t work out.  They have traded and drafted and switched coaches over the years until it gets very hard to remember a time when they were a good team. This season is different.  The Addition of #1 overall draft pick SG/SF Anthony Edwards last season is finally paying off.  It is paying off in that he has learned to play with team star C Karl-Anthony Towns and Karl-Anthony has learned to play with him… Yes, the team has other pieces like SG D’Angelo Russell and hard nosed vet PG Patrick Beverley… but the key pieces are Minnesota’s Big Two of Karl-Anthony and Anthony… The two Anthonys have put the league on notice… that while it is not the T-Wolves year to win it all… they are on the way to bigger things.  The Boston Celtics had a rough start to the season… They fell all the way to 10th place in the Eastern Conference as they saw perennial losers like the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Chicago Bulls, and the even the Washington Wizards get out to better starts.  The same old questions popped up for the Celtics… Can their two stars SG Jaylen Brown and SF Jayson Tatum WIN together?... Should Marcus Smart be a starter or held back to be a sixth man?... Why do they have an ancient Power Forward instead of a younger more athletic big man?  But then Brown and Tatum turned it on!  Since the New Year the Celtics have rocketed up the standings all the way to the 4th spot… leapfrogging all those early breakout teams.  Boston is winning and has been winning and seems to have put it all together.  The Celtics made a trade for SG Derrick White at the NBA trade deadline and all they had to jettison was some roster dregs they didn’t want to play anyway.  The Celtics are a force in the Eastern Conference… Will they be a force in the playoffs?... Also in this matchup… WHO DO I BET ON?  Let’s look at the numbers and see what is the best betting opportunity.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have won 7 of their last ten games. Going 7-3 ATS during that stretch.  Their 7 wins were wins ATS…Their 3 losses were ATS losses.  Vegas is so used to Minnesota being a bad team that they haven’t perfected where to put the point spread on this team yet.  Minnesota won their last game which was against the Dallas Mavericks, a team that beat them just two games prior.  In the win 7 Timberwolves scored in double figures… a feat of teamwork that was unheard of in the bad Timberwolves seasons.  Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 20 points and 9 rebounds.  Karl-Anthony was 2-4 from 3-point distance… a regular part of his game that even led the 7-foot Center to become the tallest player to ever win the 3-point shooting contest at all-star break.   The Timberwolves are formidable, but not entirely experienced.  There will be changes to come in this off-season to try and put constant defensive support underneath the scoring trio of Towns, Edwards, and Russell.  

The Boston Celtics have won 9 of their last ten games. They went 7-3 ATS during that stretch.  Great marks to reach in both categories.  Their lone loss was to the Dallas Mavericks 95-92… a team that seems to keep playing spoiler in the league. In that game Dallas PG Luka Doncic had 26,8,8 as a statline… a dream for any coach anywhere.  The Celtics didn’t roll over though, pushing the game to the last seconds.  The C’s could not overcome the fact that Brown and Tatum had simultaneous bad shooting nights.  Celtics Center Robert Williams III is both the problem and the answer for this club. Robert Williams III is an average Center on most night averaging 9.9 points and 9.6 rebounds… anywhere there is a good to great center one of those average numbers balloons up.  The reason Boston is so high on Robert is the 2.2 blocks per game.  He gets those blocks entirely on athleticism as he stands at just 6’8.  One day the Celtics will look back at the lack of Championships from this time period (Brown and Tatum together) and realize they held onto Robert too long. Robert is a good kid, with a bright future and a tough approach to the game… he is just too average at the two key stat lines to be a Championship team’s starting Center.  At 6’8 Detroit Pistons Center ( early 2000’s) Ben Wallace averaged 14 rebounds per game and led the league… his lack of offense was justified because he BALLOONED one of the key stat lines. If Robert can not become THAT guy, he must be shipped out.  Wallace also won the Defensive Player of the Year award 4 times!!  That is who Robert Williams III should be to justify this many starting Center appearances for a supposed title contender.

Al McMordie got out the broom Friday, and went 3-0 with easy WINNERS on UCLA/North Carolina Under, Colorado and Minnesota. On Saturday, Big Al's going to go for a 5-0 SWEEP in the NBA, as he's featuring plays out of 39-18, 41-14, 27-6, 44-15 and 9-0 ATS angles. Go get 'em! Get Big Al’s' picks!   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 Timberwolves are 43-32 on the season, but 41-32-2 ATS.  They have logged 44 Overs and 31 Unders.  They are 18-19 in road games.

The Boston Celtics are 46-28 on the season, but 39-34-1 ATS.  They have notched 34 Overs, 38 Unders, and 2 Push. They are a fantastic 25-12 in home games.

The Timberwolves are 1st in scoring with 115.4 ppg, 13th in rebounds with 44.7 per game, and 14th AST/TO with 1.8. On defense they rank 20th while allowing 111.9 ppg from opponents.

The Celtics are 16th in scoring with 110.4 ppg, 5th in rebounds with 46.1 per game, and 13th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8.  On defense they excel ranking #1 while holding opponents to 103.8 ppg.

Our prediction for Sunday, March 27th is…. Celtics 118 - Timberwolves 101

A big home win for the Celtics.  That is the most likely outcome.  Minnesota gives up too many points on the road and the Celtics simply are the best defense at home in the entire league.  

Don't miss our champion handicappers' Free NBA Picks and Premium Selections every day here at Bigal.com. Just click on Shop Picks for our Best Bets, or click on Shop Subscriptions to

join for a week or a month. And if you enjoyed this Timberwolves/Celtics Preview, be sure to bookmark Bigal.com for our daily Game Previews and Predictions.  Get help with all your college football picks, National Football league, NCAA brackets, or any prop bets on your season schedule. 

Boston is 13-9 ATS versus Minnesota since 1996.
Minnesota is 18-6 ATS after covering 3 of their last 4 spreads.
Minnesota is 27 OVER and 10 Under in road games this season.

Timberwolves: SG Malik Beasley (ankle) Quest ** SF Jaden McDaniels (ankle) Out

Celtics: No injuries to report

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

Celtics: SF Jayson Tatum, PF Al Horford, C Robert Williams III, SG Jaylen Brown, PG Marcus Smart

Timberwolves: Chris Finch

Celtics: Ime Udoka