Timberwolves vs. Mavericks Betting Odds and Prop Picks

The Minnesota Timberwolves will battle the Dallas Mavericks for the right to advance to the NBA Finals, when they meet for the Western Conference Finals starting on Wednesday.

The T-Wolves knocked out the defending champion Denver Nuggets with an improbable 20-point, second-half comeback in Game 7, while the Mavs beat the No. 1-seed Oklahoma City Thunder in six games.

Here are our best bets and predictions for the Timberwolves vs. Mavericks Western Conference Finals:

The Timberwolves are favored to advance to their first NBA Finals in franchise history behind the outstanding play of 22-year-old Anthony Edwards. But before they get there, they’ll have to take down a Mavs team led by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, that also had one of the best defenses over the final months of the season.

Minnesota cuts its teeth on defense, but has been remarkably efficient on offense in the postseason. Dallas, quite the opposite, used its defense to earn a spot in the conference finals as Doncic and Irving both struggled more times than not in the last series.

The Wolves won three of four regular-season matchups between these clubs, but all were before the trade deadline, and Doncic and Irving both missed several of those games.

The favorites are 3-2 at home in the playoffs, while the underdogs are 4-2 on the road and started every round away from their arena.

Mavericks vs. Timberwolves WCF predictions: Mavericks series winner (+142 or better)

The Timberwolves should come out full of energy after their miraculous comeback, but we like the Mavericks to take the series.

Minnesota plays physical defense, which Denver found success with after it adjusted following two early losses. Dallas’ individual shotmaking, assuming Doncic and Irving are back to their usual selves, will put serious pressure on the T-Wolves backcourt to make its perimeter shots.

Rudy Gobert acquitted himself extremely well in the last series but could be targeted by Mavs guards as well, meaning they’ll have to concede mismatches or open looks if they want to keep him close to the basket on defense. All of that leads to the Mavericks having a slight advantage.

The bench scoring battle between Tim Hardaway Jr. and Naz Reid will be a huge component of this series, particularly if the Mavs find success trapping Edwards or if their backcourt continues to shoot the ball poorly.

Mavericks vs. Timberwolves series props: Over 5.5 games (-175 or better)

The line is 5.5 games? Seriously?

These teams might be very evenly matched despite having different strengths, weaknesses, and roster compositions. They went a total of 13 games in the conference semifinals and can match each other for star power, desire, coaching acumen and just about everything else that goes into the game.

While the odds aren’t the most profitable, the line of 5.5 very clearly favors the over, especially with how hot and cold both teams’ star players have been. The ebbs and flows of their performances should severely impact how long the series lasts, and based on the last round, that again should be at least six games.

The Timberwolves already showed their heart and desire with their comeback in the previous round, while the Mavericks have two of the most clutch players and playoff performers not just in the league, but in the history of basketball (particularly with Irving). There’s too much to suggest that either team will wrap up the series in short order.

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