Timberwolves and Nuggets — “You’re In if You Win”
The Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves meet at Target Center on Wednesday night. This game is the culmination of the 82 game regular season. It is winner take all. The winner of this game proceeds to the NBA playoffs. TV: 8 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), FS North (Minnesota). Oddsmakers opened the Timberwolves as -4-point favorites versus the Nuggets, while the game’s total opened at 220. The line is now Minnesota -3.5 and the total is at 216. Months of play have led to Wednesday’s final regular-season game between these two teams in Minnesota. Wednesday’s winner will go to the playoffs. The loser will start its offseason and prepare for the draft. The seeding possibilities for the winner in the packed Western Conference standings are not determined yet. A win is the only thing that matters for now for these two teams. The Nuggets came from behind to beat Portland 88-82 on Monday to set up this showdown.No One Expected This From Either Team, Especially the Trail Blazers
Two weeks ago it didn’t seem feasible the season coming down to the final game. Minnesota was playing without All-Star Jimmy Butler. They were fading down the stretch. When the Wolves lost 100-96 at Denver on April 5, it was their final game without Butler and ended a 6-9 stretch. Minnesota has won the past two games with Butler back in the lineup after having knee surgery. Monday’s win against Portland was the Nuggets’ sixth in a row. It will be a different matchup than the one six days earlier. Butler didn’t play in that game. He is still on a minutes restriction and Butler played 22:58 in Monday’s win. He had 15 points, three steals and three assists. Taj Gibson left Monday’s game early with a sore neck. He is questionable for Wednesday. The Nuggets got back guard Gary Harris on Monday. He had missed 11 games with a knee injury. He had 12 points and two steals in 18 minutes off the bench. Minnesota is riding a 13-season playoff drought. Gibson knows the intensity that will come Wednesday. He experienced a win-and-in regular-season finale in 2010 with the Bulls. Teammate Derrick Rose also was on that Chicago team.
Recent Form
| Name | Record | ATS | Offense | Defense | Diff | ATS Home | ATS Away | OU Record | OU Home | OU Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 46-35 | 37-41-3 | 110.05 | 108.48 | 1.57 | 20-20-1 | 17-21-2 | 40-39-2 | 20-21 | 20-18-2 |
| Minnesota | 46-35 | 36-42-3 | 109.48 | 107.30 | 2.18 | 19-19-2 | 17-23-1 | 44-36-1 | 23-16-1 | 21-20 |
Power Stats
| Assists Turnovers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Assists | Turnovers | Ratio | |
| DEN | 25.19 | 14.38 | 1.75 | |
| MIN | 22.68 | 11.80 | 1.92 | |
| Rebounding | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Offense | Defense | Total | |
| DEN | 10.96 | 33.47 | 44.43 | |
| MIN | 10.38 | 31.59 | 41.97 | |
| ShootingPercentage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Offense | Defense | Differential | |
| DEN | 47.03 | 47.63 | -0.6 | |
| MIN | 47.66 | 47.58 | 0.08 | |
Team Records
Denver Nuggets
| Name |
|---|
| Name | Record | Home | Away | ATS | ATS Home | ATS Away | Offense | Defense | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 46-35 | 31-10 | 15-25 | 37-41-3 | 20-20-1 | 17-21-2 | 110.05 | 108.48 | 1.57 |
| Last 10 | 8-2 | 4-0 | 4-2 | 6-4 | 1-3 | 5-1 | 114.00 | 108.60 | 5.40 |
| vs Div | 9-6 | 7-1 | 2-5 | 9-5-1 | 5-2-1 | 4-3 | 102.20 | 101.80 | 0.40 |
| vs EAST | 18-12 | 10-5 | 8-7 | 12-17-1 | 4-11 | 8-6-1 | 114.30 | 110.93 | 3.37 |
| vs WEST | 28-23 | 21-5 | 7-18 | 25-24-2 | 16-9-1 | 9-15-1 | 107.55 | 107.04 | 0.51 |
Minnesota Timberwolves
| Name | Record | Home | Away | ATS | ATS Home | ATS Away | Offense | Defense | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 46-35 | 29-11 | 17-24 | 36-42-3 | 19-19-2 | 17-23-1 | 109.48 | 107.30 | 2.18 |
| Last 10 | 6-4 | 3-2 | 3-2 | 4-5-1 | 2-2-1 | 2-3 | 107.00 | 105.10 | 1.90 |
| vs Div | 9-6 | 6-1 | 3-5 | 8-7 | 3-4 | 5-3 | 109.07 | 108.67 | 0.40 |
| vs EAST | 13-17 | 9-6 | 4-11 | 10-18-2 | 7-7-1 | 3-11-1 | 109.17 | 108.40 | 0.77 |
| vs WEST | 33-18 | 20-5 | 13-13 | 26-24-1 | 12-12-1 | 14-12 | 109.67 | 106.65 | 3.02 |
Supergrid
| Title | Stat | Rank | Stat | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Away Team Overall Scoring vs Home Team Overall Defense | 110.05 | 6 | 107.30 | 17 |
| Away Team Away Scoring vs Home Team Home Defense | 108.45 | 7 | 105.75 | 18 |
| Away Team Road Rebounds vs Home Team Home Rebounds Allowed | 43.17 | 15 | 40.60 | 3 |
| Home Team Overall Scoring vs Away Team Overall Defense | 109.48 | 7 | 108.48 | 22 |
| Home Team Home Scoring vs Away Team Road Defense | 111.43 | 7 | 111.40 | 26 |
| Home Team Home Rebounds vs Away Team Road Rebounds Allowed | 43.08 | 23 | 42.97 | 8 |
Head To Head Summary
| Team | record | ATS | O/U | AVG | AVG ½ | FG% | REB | 3PT | steals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 6-4 | 6-4 | 4-6 | 104.40 | 55.80 | 45.97 | 40.70 | 68/197 | 7.50 |
| Minnesota | 4-6 | 4-6 | 4-6 | 104.30 | 52.90 | 46.02 | 44.30 | 102/277 | 5.80 |
Head To Head Detail
| Date | Away | away score | Home | home score | line | ATS | Total | O/U | FG% Edge | Reb Edge | 3PT Edge | Away Half Score | Home Half Score | Away FG% | Home FG% | Away Rebounds | Home Rebounds | Away Three Pointers | Home Three Pointers | Away Steals | Home Steals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 2018 | MIN | 96 | DEN | 100 | -4.5 | MIN | 224.5 | U | MIN | Push | DEN | 54 | 51 | 42.9 | 39.3 | 47 | 47 | 6/24 | 11/36 | 4 | 3 |
| Dec 27, 2017 | DEN | 125 | MIN | 128 | -5 | DEN | 211.5 | O | MIN | DEN | DEN | 58 | 71 | 46.2 | 52.2 | 48 | 42 | 15/39 | 12/29 | 3 | 4 |
| Dec 20, 2017 | MIN | 112 | DEN | 104 | -1 | MIN | 214.5 | O | DEN | DEN | DEN | 50 | 52 | 49.4 | 50 | 37 | 42 | 8/24 | 13/28 | 12 | 6 |
| Feb 15, 2017 | MIN | 112 | DEN | 99 | -6.5 | MIN | 225.5 | U | MIN | DEN | DEN | 62 | 60 | 47.7 | 40.4 | 45 | 49 | 6/18 | 11/34 | 12 | 4 |
| Jan 22, 2017 | DEN | 108 | MIN | 111 | -3.5 | DEN | 221 | U | MIN | DEN | DEN | 58 | 62 | 51.2 | 53.6 | 40 | 36 | 7/24 | 6/15 | 7 | 11 |
| Dec 28, 2016 | MIN | 103 | DEN | 105 | -4 | MIN | 217 | U | DEN | MIN | DEN | 49 | 49 | 44.7 | 51.9 | 43 | 38 | 7/25 | 10/28 | 8 | 6 |
| Nov 3, 2016 | DEN | 102 | MIN | 99 | -3.5 | DEN | 204.5 | U | DEN | DEN | MIN | 55 | 61 | 48.1 | 39.8 | 44 | 43 | 6/22 | 9/22 | 10 | 8 |
| Jan 6, 2016 | DEN | 78 | MIN | 74 | -3.5 | DEN | 201.5 | U | MIN | DEN | DEN | 42 | 44 | 35.8 | 38.4 | 46 | 40 | 8/20 | 3/11 | 3 | 5 |
| Dec 15, 2015 | DEN | 112 | MIN | 100 | -6.5 | DEN | 202.5 | O | DEN | DEN | DEN | 63 | 49 | 56.2 | 46.8 | 39 | 31 | 10/18 | 4/10 | 9 | 6 |
| Dec 11, 2015 | MIN | 108 | DEN | 111 | -1 | DEN | 202 | O | DEN | DEN | DEN | 56 | 41 | 43.7 | 44.2 | 43 | 50 | 7/19 | 11/28 | 5 | 7 |
NBA Betting Trends
| Denver Nuggets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Denver is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games | ||
| Denver is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road | ||
| Denver is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road | ||
| Denver is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Minnesota | ||
| Denver is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Minnesota | ||
| The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Denver’s last 8 games when playing Minnesota | ||
| Denver is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Minnesota | ||
| Denver is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games when playing on the road against Minnesota | ||
| The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Denver’s last 6 games when playing on the road against Minnesota | ||
Minnesota Timberwolves |
||
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota is 8-16-1 ATS in its last 25 games | ||
| Minnesota is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games | ||
| The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 5 games | ||
| Minnesota is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home | ||
| Minnesota is 19-5 SU in its last 24 games at home | ||
| The total has gone OVER in 10 of Minnesota’s last 13 games at home | ||
| Minnesota is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Denver | ||
| Minnesota is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Denver | ||
| The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota’s last 8 games when playing Denver | ||
| Minnesota is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Denver | ||
| Minnesota is 5-16 SU in its last 21 games when playing at home against Denver | ||
| The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 6 games when playing at home against Denver | ||
Team Last 5 Games
Denver Nuggets
| Date | Opponent | score | Result | line | Total | ATS Result | field goal percentage | free throw percentage | three pointers | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 9, 2018 | POR | 88-82 | W | -4.5 | 220.5 | W/U | 37.35 | 76.92 | 6 | H |
| Apr 7, 2018 | LAC | 134-115 | W | -3.5 | 222 | W/O | 62.35 | 69.57 | 12 | A |
| Apr 5, 2018 | MIN | 100-96 | W | -4.5 | 224.5 | L/U | 39.33 | 86.36 | 11 | H |
| Apr 3, 2018 | IND | 107-104 | W | -4 | 212 | L/U | 46.07 | 75.00 | 10 | H |
| Apr 1, 2018 | MIL | 128-125 | W | -5.5 | 223 | L/O | 44.44 | 80.43 | 11 | H |
Minnesota Timberwolves
| Date | Opponent | score | Result | line | Total | ATS Result | field goal percentage | free throw percentage | three pointers | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 9, 2018 | MEM | 113-94 | W | -16 | 214 | W/U | 48.28 | 84.62 | 7 | H |
| Apr 6, 2018 | LAL | 113-96 | W | -5 | 221 | W/U | 43.00 | 73.08 | 8 | A |
| Apr 5, 2018 | DEN | 96-100 | L | 4.5 | 224.5 | W/U | 42.86 | 75.00 | 6 | A |
| Apr 1, 2018 | UTA | 97-121 | L | 2.5 | 208 | L/O | 42.22 | 92.86 | 8 | H |
| Mar 30, 2018 | DAL | 93-92 | W | -6 | 217 | L/U | 42.17 | 88.24 |