Celtics vs. Timberwolves Prediction, Odds, Parlay Pick for Thursday, January 2

• Celtics vs. Timberwolves spread: Celtics -4
• Celtics vs. Timberwolves over/under: 219.5 total points
• Celtics vs. Timberwolves moneyline: Timberwolves +145, Celtics -170
• Celtics vs. Timberwolves best bet: Timberwolves +4 (-110)

Celtics vs. Timberwolves Preview

The Celtics head to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves in their first game of the new year on Thursday evening. Both of these teams have been sluggish of late going 5-5 over their last 10 games. Let’s dive into which team will start the New Year with a win.

This is the front-end of a back-to-back set for the Celtics, who play the Rockets on Friday night so we need to keep an eye on the injury report with Jaylen Brown (shoulder) and Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) both listed as Questionable for this game.

The Celtics still remain elite at 24-9 with the second-best Adjusted Net Rating (+8.8) and the best Adjusted Offensive Rating (118.8) in the NBA, per Dunks and Threes.

The Timberwolves are 10th in Adjusted Net (+2.4) and are being led by their Defense (108.7 – 4th). Both of these teams have been miserable ATS with Boston at 13-20 and Minnesota at 13-19. Minnesota’s one relative bright spot has been they are 3-2 as an underdog.

Boston’s biggest edge is that they generally take and make more three-point attempts than anyone else. Minnesota takes the fifth-highest frequency of 3s, which tempers that Boston edge.

Considering both teams rank bottom-10 in Pace, it does not necessarily allow either team to play through, as much of the shooting variance that comes from beyond the arc.

Interestingly enough, when these teams play teams with top-10 defenses, it’s Minnesota that has the better Net Rating and Boston is -4.1 in terms of spread differential against those teams, per Cleaning the Glass.

Celtics vs. Timberwolves Prediction

The Wolves match up well from a stylistic perspective against Boston. Add in the potential for Brown and/or Porzingis to miss tonight’s contest, and there’s value on Minnesota to cover the spread at anything more than one possession.

For my same game parlay, I’m looking at Wolves +3.5, Anthony Edwards 20+ Points, and Randle 2+ Three-Pointers.

Best Bet: Timberwolves +4

Same Game Parlay Picks

• Anthony Edwards 20+ Points (-400)
• Julius Randle 2+ Three-Pointers Made (-130)
• Timberwolves +4 (-110)

Parlay Payout: +237

Timberwolves vs. Celtics Betting Trends