On Saturday afternoon, the Minnesota Timberwolves will square off with the Memphis Grizzlies in the first game of their first round playoff series. Minnesota won an emotional game in the Play-In Tournament to reach the first round of the playoffs, while the Grizzlies are sitting pretty as the second seed in the Western Conference. In our NBA picks for the first round of the playoffs, we look at Game 1 of Timberwolves vs Grizzlies.
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Timberwolves vs Grizzlies Game 1 Betting Pick
This game will be played at 3:30 PM ET at FedEx Forum on Saturday, April 16, 2022.
Why Bet The Timberwolves:
✅ The Timberwolves have a matchup advantage in this game in the form of Karl-Anthony Towns working on Steven Adams. Towns can spread the floor and fire away from three-point range, while Adams does not typically guard the perimeter. While he struggled against the Clippers, Towns should have a better showing in this contest.
✅ These teams split their season series this year, with the home teams winning every game in their four encounters. But the Timberwolves took the Grizzlies to overtime in one of their losses in Memphis, and could have easily won three of four games against Memphis this season. They will keep this game close as well.
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✅ Minnesota plays the fastest pace in the NBA, with the Grizzlies ranking fourth in that department. As a result, the Timberwolves are one of the few teams in the NBA that will not be bothered by how quickly the Grizzlies like to get the ball up and down the floor. While the Grizzlies should win Game 1 of this series on their home floor, that pace from the Timberwolves will help them hang around.
Minnesota Timberwolves
In the best game of the Play-In Tournament, the Minnesota Timberwolves took care of business at home against the Los Angeles Clippers. That win from Minnesota set up this series against the Grizzlies and, more importantly, helped the Timberwolves to avoid a first round series with the Phoenix Suns. Now an inexperienced Timberwolves team will look to make an impact in their first playoff game since the 2017-2018 season.
For the Timberwolves, the presence of Patrick Beverley is going to be important against the Grizzlies in particular. Beverley is going to be matched up with Ja Morant quite a bit, and will look to use his physicality and tenacity to throw Morant out of rhythm to set the tone in this series. While the other Timberwolves defenders will need to work hard to crowd shooters like Desmond Bane, that Beverley matchup against Morant is going to be crucial for the visitors.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies were one of the most pleasant surprises of the NBA season, finishing in second place in the Western Conference in the regular season. Memphis is now tasked with defending home court in the first two rounds of the playoffs, starting with Saturday’s contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After a first round exit against the Utah Jazz a season ago, the vastly improved Grizzlies will hope that this postseason is their coming out party.
Memphis’ biggest challenge in this game is going to be figuring out how to guard Karl-Anthony Towns effectively. They have the bodies to stick with the likes of D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards, but Towns presents a difficult matchup for Steven Adams. If Adams comes out to guard him on the perimeter, Towns could drive right by him, while Towns can hit perimeter shots if Adams sags off.