The Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves are tied up 1-1 in one of the best first round series of the playoffs so far. The Timberwolves shocked the Lakers and took Game 1 emphatically, but LA redeemed themselves in Game 2 with a defensively dominant win. We are going to take a look at the Lakers-Timberwolves odds as well as the series so far to determine some of the best bets heading into Game 3.
Timberwolves vs Lakers Best Bets For Game 3
*All Lakers-Timberwolves Odds are courtesy of FanDuel.com as of Thursday evening.
The Series So Far
The Timberwolves dominated Game 1, winning 117-95 by outmuscling the Lakers and overcoming Luka Doncic’s 37 point night. Minnesota’s physicality and defensive length gave the Lakers trouble, exposing LA’s lack of size and toughness.
In Game 2, the Lakers responded with a gritty, defensive-minded performance, holding the Timberwolves to a season-low 85 points and evening the series with a 94-85 victory. Doncic led the way again with 31 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists, while LeBron James and Austin Reaves made key plays down the stretch.
Both games have been low-scoring, physical battles, with neither team shooting well from three in Game 2. They both have gone under the projected total, and the winning team has covered the spread in both.
The Under Could Hit Once Again
The point total is the first place to look for Game 3 best bets in the Lakers vs Timberwolves. The projected point total has slowly crept down throughout the series, and the current line is set at 205.5.
Over the Lakers and Timberwolves’ last ten matchups, the under has hit seven times. The Timberwolves and Lakers have both been trending towards the under as the defensive intensity has ramped up towards the playoffs. The Lakers have gone under in four of their last five, and the Wolves have gone under in seven of their last eight. We could see Game 3 being another defensive, physical battle, meaning the under could very well hit again.
LeBron Will Bounce Back From Deep
Doncic is going to score pretty much no matter what. The Lakers have fully shifted their offense to him, and he is finding his stride in the purple and gold. Part of that transition has been less offensive load on the 40-year-old James. James has been held to just 21 and 19 points in the first two contests of this series, going 2-of-10 combined from deep.
James is not going to shoot that poorly from deep for the third game in a row. He shot 37.6% from three during the season, making 2.1 of his 5.7 attempts per game. LeBron is currently -130 to make two or more threes in Game 3. This could be a solid bet as James should regress to the average.
James’ line for total points scored is 23.5. After the Lakers lost home-court advantage in Game 1, Game 3 became all the more important. Expect James to come out aggressive and defer less on offense than he did in Games 1 and 2. That 23.5 line may seem high after his first two games, but rarely does James go cold three games in a row.
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