Pick against the spread, over/under for Lakers vs. Timberwolves in Tuesday’s play-in game

The Los Angeles Lakers qualified for a play-in game as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, and will host the No. 8 Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, April 11 at 10 p.m. ET. The game will air on TNT.

The Timberwolves’ Jaden McDaniels broke his hand earlier this week. Jaylen Nowell did not play on Sunday with a knee injury and is questionable for the play-in game. Rudy Gobert is suspended for the play-in game after a physical altercation with a teammate. Karl-Anthony Towns is listed as questionable but is expected to play. The Lakers have listed D’Angelo Russell, LeBron James and Anthony Davis as probable for this contest.

The Lakers enter as 8.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook with the total set at 232.5. Los Angeles is -330 on the moneyline, while Minnesota is +275.

Lakers vs. Timberwolves, 10 p.m. ET

Pick ATS: Lakers -8.5

The Timberwolves’ drama has put them in a tough spot heading into a must-win game, with McDaniels breaking his hand and Gobert taking a swing at teammate Kyle Anderson. The team isn’t in a good mental space where winning will happen here, and the Lakers should be able to take this one easily at home. The T-Wolves have won two of three head-to-head matchups this year, but lost the one game where L.A. had James and Davis on the court. A healthy Lakers roster heading into the playoffs could get interesting. Take the home team to win and cover in this one.

Over/Under: Over 232.5

With a potentially depleted Minnesota roster and team drama between remaining starters, I’m not sure the Timberwolves stay in this game enough to push it to the over. However, with James and Davis on the court, I like the over here. They are both coming into form at the right time and should put on a clinic.