Fred VanVleet and the Toronto Raptors will wrap up the unofficial first half of the regular season tonight against Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Raptors (31-25) are back in the playoff picture this season and trying to move up the East standings. The Timberwolves (31-27) are currently in the play-in tournament out West, which would be a vast improvement from where they were last season. Minnesota is one-point favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set at 229.5.
Raptors vs. Timberwolves, 8:00 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Raptors -1
The Raptors enter tonight’s game on a two-game losing streak after suffering a 30-point blowout loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night. VanVleet led Toronto with 20 points, but the Raptors shot 30.5% from the field and 23.5% from three-point range. They will try to bounce back tonight against the T’Wolves, who just played last night against the Charlotte Hornets.
Toronto is 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 games and 5-1 ATS in their last six road games. This season, the Raptors have a record of 15-12 away from Scotiabank Arena and have won five out of their last six road contests.
The Timberwolves are coming off of a six-point overtime win against the Hornets. With the win, Minnesota has now won seven-straight games at home. In those games, the T’Wolves are averaging 121.8 points per game. Minnesota is 6-2-1 ATS in their last nine games and 10-7-1 ATS when they are the home favorite this season. However, they do not fare well on the second night of a back-to-back this season as they are 3-5 ATS. If VanVleet does play, who is dealing with a knee injury, then take the Raptors -1/ML. But if he doesn’t, then I like Minny’s chances to close out the first half of the regular season with a win.
Over/Under: Over 229.5
The Raptors have a record of 31-25 this season when it comes to overs this season and are 13-14 with overs on the road. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves have a league-best 36-22 record involving overs this season. The total has also gone over in 10 of their last 11 games.
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