by Chuck Sommers
Monday, Jan 17, 2022
Game time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Where to watch: TNT
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: NL
BetMGM: NL
Caesars: NL
Season record
Timberwolves: 21-22 (8th place, Western Conference)
Knicks: 22-22 (11th place, Eastern Conference)
Ben Burns followed up a 5-2 Saturday with a 7-1 Sunday. He's 27-12 (+$11,672) the L7 days, in all sports. NBA is on a 90-63 RUN and that includes a 59-31 (66%) mark with top rated plays. Going back further finds Ben's top rated hoops a long term $119K PROFIT HEATER. Make sure you're on board his 2022 MLK DAY "MAIN EVENT." Seriously. Its a BEAUTY! Catch Bens plays available right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers.
Timberwolves - Knicks preview, analysis and prediction
I normally don’t care much for the home team to have troubles on the second night of a back-to-back when they lost at home the day prior.
But that’s been the kind of season for the New York Knicks. Unpredictability is the flavor of the month, and with the Minnesota Timberwolves coming to town on a nice stretch of winning themselves, I like the road team to handle business on Tuesday.
The Timberwolves have a lot to feel good about after winning 119-99 at home against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. I understand it came with caveats; no Steph Curry, no Draymond Green, etc. But when you’re a team that’s just looking for wins any way you can get them, you’ll take it, especially with the Timberwolves only one game below .500 after that victory.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 26 points and 11 rebounds, but the Wolves got tremendous contribution from Malik Beasley (16 points) and Jaylen Nowell (17 points) off the bench. Minnesota had to overcome just eight points from Anthony Edwards and only seven from D’Angelo Russell.
"We're really close. We like to see each other succeed. That right there is one of the hardest things to find in teams, I feel like," Nowell said. "None of us on the team are selfish."
The Timberwolves are 13-8 against the spread on the road this season and are 7-2 ATS (5-4 straight up) when revenging a loss to an opponent; the Knicks won 96-88 at Target Center back on Dec. 28. Minnesota also comes in having gone 8-4 ATS after allowing 100 points or less the prior game.
Minnesota has gone 5-3 against the spread and were 5-point favorites against the Curry-less Warriors.
“Got some and-ones, got some layups, utilized my finishing ability. For this team to grow, I have to grow as well,” Towns said.
With the Knicks coming back after losing by 10 to the red-hot Charlotte Hornets, part of me wants to think their defense will continue in a positive direction after holding the Hornets to just 97 points. Scoring 87 of their own, however, is a glaring issue, especially with Miles Bridges being the only one to provide offense on this day.
"I think if you look at, honestly, the rest of the game, especially in the second half, we played well," said forward RJ Barrett. The Knicks held the Hornets to 35 points in the second half.
Do it again on the second half in the back-to-back? Highly unlikely.
The Timberwolves are going to be one of those hot-and-cold teams all season long, but sometimes you have to take a chance on something that wouldn’t often make sense. I expect Minnesota to have a better effort defensively. Timberwolves by 8
Betting trends
The Timberwolves are 12-10 ATS off an over this season.
The Timberwolves are 9-12 ATS off a home game this season.
The Knicks are 7-1 ATS on Tuesday this season.
Projected starting lineup
Timberwolves:
PG: Patrick Beverley
SG: D'Angelo Russell
SF: Anthony Edwards
PF: Jarred Vanderbilt
C: Karl-Anthony Towns
SF: Anthony Edwards
PF: Jarred Vanderbilt
C: Karl-Anthony Towns
Knicks:
PG: Alec Burks
SG: Evan Fournier
SF: RJ Barrett
PF: Julius Randle
C: Mitchell Robinson
SF: RJ Barrett
PF: Julius Randle
C: Mitchell Robinson
Key injuries
Timberwolves: None
Knicks: Kemba Walker (knee, out)
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Minnesota Timberwolves - New York Knicks prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NBA projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
