Lakers vs. Timberwolves Prediction on April 12, 2023

Match info

The Play-In Tournament bracket has been finalized following the conclusion of the men’s basketball 2022-23 NBA regular season.

The Los Angeles Lakers will play the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Wednesday, April 12, at 7:00 PM local time with the No. 7 seed on the line after a wild finish in the Western Conference. In the opening round of the playoffs, the victor of this game will take on the No. 2 seed Grizzlies.

Meeting statistics

Both teams have participated in the Play-In Tournament before. In 2021, LeBron James and Anthony Davis guided the Lakers to the playoffs by defeating Stephen Curry and the Warriors to earn the No. 7 seed. After defeating the undermanned Clippers in the Play-In game to earn the No. 7 seed last season, the Timberwolves qualified for the playoffs for just the second time in the previous 18 seasons. After winning the Play-In Tournament, neither club advanced past the first round, falling to the Suns and the Grizzlies, respectively. They’ll attempt to modify that fortune this time. Bookmaker-Expert has you covered below with all you need to know before the Lakers-Timbewolves Play-In game, highlighting the best prediction in accordance to the odds of bookmakers with iOS apps.

Minnesota defeated Los Angeles in the season series by winning two of the three games. This season, the Timberwolves only faced the Lakers with James and Davis in that one game, which they lost. Anthony Edwards (29 points), Rudy Gobert (22), and Karl-Anthony Towns (21) combined for 72 points in a victory against James without Davis in their first meeting. Despite Davis’s 38-point outburst in their second game without James, the Timberwolves managed to win without Towns because five players scored in double figures. With both teams nearing full strength, Los Angeles trounced Minnesota in their most recent meeting because of 38 points and 17 rebounds from Davis. Edwards struggled, ending with 11 points on 4-for-16 shooting from the field.

In their final game of the regular season, the Timberwolves’ situation couldn’t have been worse. During a timeout, star center Gobert and his teammate Kyle Anderson got into a furious altercation. When tensions rose, Gobert lunged at Anderson and struck his teammate in the chest. The Timberwolves were forced to play the entirety of the second half of a game with significant playoff implications without one of their finest players after sending the Frenchman home for his behavior. Even though it lost some crucial players in the process, Minnesota nevertheless defeated the Pelicans to secure the No. 8 spot in the West. The Timberwolves haven’t yet decided whether to suspend Gobert for their Play-In Game against the Lakers on Wednesday, so that choice will be a key one to watch on Monday.

But hold on, there’s more.

Jaden McDaniels, a potential All-Defensive Team member, punched a wall on his way into the locker room. McDaniels broke his right hand during the game, and it was confirmed afterward that he would miss the rest of the campaign. The bad news keeps getting worse for Minnesota, which is already without influential reserve center Naz Reid after the injury he sustained with only five games left in the season.

Head-to-head encounters

This season it’s 2-1 for the Wolves:

• October 28, 2022: Timberwolves – Lakers 111-102
• March 3, 2023: Lakers – Timberwolves 102-110
• March 31, 2023: Timberwolves – Lakers 111-123

Match analytics

We’d choose the Lakers even if the Timberwolves were at full strength, had Gobert become available, and had both McDaniels and Reid returned to health. We don’t see how the Timberwolves can prevent James and Davis from utterly dominating this game with Gobert’s availability uncertain, McDaniels out, and Reid out as well.

Davis played Minnesota twice this year, scoring 38.0 points and pulling down 11.0 rebounds per game on average. James just finished the regular season with one of his best performances, scoring 36 points, grabbing six rebounds, and dishing out six assists. The Lakers are regaining their form just in time.

Our prediction: Lakers to win with a handicap of -6.5. Sportaza offers odds of 1.90 for this market.

Results of the forecast

Successful forecast. Lakers vs. Timberwolves 108:102