The 38-35 Boston Celtics will travel on a back to back when they take on the 26-46 Minnesota Timberwolves in an NBA pro basketball game on Monday night. Tip off time from Minnesota is scheduled for 8PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by the NBA League Pass Channel.
The pro basketball odds from this NBA game will be out on Monday night as Nikola Pekovic is listed as questionable for Minnesota with an ankle injury. On the Boston side Kevin Garnett is questionable for Monday’s game with an ankle problem.
The Celtics and Timberwolves met back on December 5th with Boston posting the 104-94 home victory as a -5 ½ point betting favorite. The total finished over 193 points.
Boston has a road record this season of 13-24. They lost for the sixth time in eight games after a 108-89 road defeat on Sunday to the New York Knicks as a +6 ½ points. The total game in at under 197 ½ points. The Celtics fell behind 65-48 at the half in defeat. They shot 43.2% from the floor and made 7 of 25 three pointers. Boston allowed the Knicks 48.6% shooting, 14 of 27 from three and to pull down four more rebounds. Jeff Green led the Celtics with 27 points and four boards as he made 10 of his 14 shots. Boston is in the seventh seed in the Eastern conference and holds a 2 ½ game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks with nine games remaining. Boston puts up respectable defensive numbers as they rank in the top nine of the league in all three important categories. The problem with Boston is their lack of size supporting Kevin Garnett as the Celtics and 29th and second to last in rebounding the basketball.
The Timberwolves are 17-19 when playing at home this season. They lose their fifth game in eight tries after a 99-86 home defeat on Saturday to the Memphis Grizzlies as a +3 point underdog. The game finished under 186 ½ points. Minnesota gets outscored in the second half by a 34-19 margin. The team shot 43.3% from the floor and canned 5 of 16 three pointers. The Timberwolves allowed the Grizzlies 50.7% shooting with 6 of 10 coming from three point land. Minnesota was sloppy with 17 turnovers. Ricky Rubio led the Timberwolves with 23 points and 9 assists as he made 6 of his 12 shots. Minnesota has been hurt this season to injuries to key offensive players. Kevin Love has missed significant action with a broken hand. Chase Budinger has recently returned to the lineup and is trying to round into shape. As a recult the Timberwolves rank in the lower third of the NBA in all four key areas of offense which are points per game, field goal, three point and free throw shooting.
