Philadelphia 76ers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves odds & best bets

There are going to be a lot of eyeballs on this game as it is expected to be the first game for James Harden in a 76ers uniform. 

What we do know is that 76ers center Joel Embiid is awesome and will be looking to continue a season that has him as one of the leading MVP candidates. Since the trade deadline, Philly is 3-1 and looked good enough beating Milwaukee just before the break that we can almost forgive the terrible game against Boston the game before that. There are still lots of questions about Philly and now that we are finally getting Harden on the floor we can begin answering them. 

For Minnesota, they started their second half with a nice win over Memphis last night. Karl-Anthony Towns wants to be in the discussion with Embiid and Jokic as one of the best centers in the game so let's see how he holds up this evening. In a game like this, the Wolves are going to need him on both ends more than normal. Playing with no rest has not been a good situation for the Timberwolves this season. They are just 3-6 SUATS but maybe getting the 76ers in a "transition" spot is helpful.  

Game Info

Philadelphia 76ers (35-23) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (32-28)
Friday, February 25, 2022
8:00 PM ET
Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Bally Sports North

Betting Odds

Spread: 76ers -3 (-110), Timberwolves +3 (-110)
Total: 228.5
Moneyline: 76ers -155, Timberwolves +125

Minnesota +3

In general, I do not think the pairing of Harden and Embiid is going to work. The 76ers are not going to lose 8 of 9 games or anything like that, I just don't think they are better with the guys they had to give up.

In the short term, I think things are going to look clunky and even though Minnesota has not been great playing on back to backs the team should not be too winded given they had a week off. 

Minnesota definitely got a confidence-boosting win last night over Memphis and I like that they can match size with Towns against Embiid and put Patrick Beverley on Harden. Beverley is the last guy you want to see on the other team if you are trying to find your game after a layoff (or playing with new teammates).

That combination gives them a great chance to compete hard at home and maybe even win outright. Getting the points to work with helps too and maybe we squeeze out an extra point throughout the day. 

Sure, maybe Harden goes crazy and scored 47 points in his debut but I am happy to bet against that happening tonight.  

Minnesota is on a 7-1 SUATS run at the Target Center too.