Timberwolves vs Lakers Free Pick, NBA Free Picks, NBA Predictions 4/22/25
- J.A. Cavalier
- Apr 22, 2025
- 3 min read
MINNESOTA @ LA LAKERS (LAL -5.5, 210.5)
NBA ODDS, NBA PREDICTIONS, NBA PREVIEWS
TIMBERWOLVES @ LAKERS 4/22/25
Longtime fans of the Minnesota Timberwolves are aware that nothing is safe when it comes to playing the Los Angeles Lakers in the postseason, even though the TWolves may have an early lead in their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
The teams are still in Los Angeles for Game 2 tonight after the No. 6 seed Timberwolves defeated the No. 3 seed Lakers 117-95 on Saturday to win the series opener. The Timberwolves, who are still chasing their first NBA Finals appearance, had their best chance to win a championship in 2004 after defeating the Lakers in the Western Conference finals. The Wolves, who had home-court advantage in that series, split the opening two games before losing the best-of-seven series 4-2.
Even though the series will move to the Twin Cities later this week, history indicates that the Wolves would be better off not taking Game 2 for granted, even though Minnesota has already guaranteed a split of the first two games at Los Angeles.
Following Julius Randle's return from a groin injury, Minnesota finished the regular season on a 17-4 run after going 32-29 through February. Jaden McDaniels led the team with 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting and nine rebounds on Saturday, while Julius Randle scored 16 points.
McDaniels and the TWolves lost to the Lakers on February 27. That game ended in a score of 111-102. The teams played each other four times during the regular season, but that was the only one played after the Lakers had acquired Luka Doncic.
Doncic scored 16 points in the first 12 minutes of Game 1 and was all over the place during the first quarter. Despite his game-high 37 points, Los Angeles only made 39.8% of their shots from the field. Austin Reaves scored 16 and LeBron James was held to just 19. After being held to just two points in the first half and none in the fourth quarter, Reaves was only 5-of-13 from the field and 3-of-8 from three-point range.
Before the Wolves took control of the game with a physicality the Lakers couldn't match, the Lakers had an eight-point lead early on and were ahead 28–21 at the end of the first quarter. Los Angeles has won 15 of its last 20 games at home. Minnesota has won 5 of its last 6 on the road and 6 of the last 9 against the Lakers.
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COACH RICK FREE PICK:
JADEN MCDANIELS OVER 4.5 REBOUNDS
McDaniels had 9 rebounds in Game 1. That was one more than the number of minutes played by Jaxson Hayes of the Lakers. Hayes makes the Lakers vulnerable because of his lack of defense. Minnesota takes advantage of that, so Lakers head coach JJ Redick can’t play Hayes as much. That allows McDaniels to feast on the boards against a smaller Lakers lineup. McDaniels has 9, 8, and 9 rebounds in the last three games against LA. He went Over tonight’s number in 64 percent of his games this season.
