Timberwolves vs Grizzlies Picks and Predictions: Memphis' Streak Goes to 11

No team is hotter in the NBA than the Memphis Grizzlies, but could their fourth game in just six nights trip up Ja Morant & Co.? The Minnesota Timberwolves, looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss on a buzzer-beater in New Orleans on Tuesday, certainly hope so.

Here are our best free NBA betting picks and predictions for the Timberwolves at the Grizzlies on January 13, with tip set for 8:00 p.m. ET.

Timberwolves vs Grizzlies odds

Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.

The Grizzlies opened as high as 5.5-point favorites on Wednesday night, but that number steadily ticked down to -4 at most books by late Thursday morning. The total opened as low as 229 before rising as high as 231.5 late Thursday morning, before settling at 230.5.

Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.

Timberwolves vs Grizzlies predictions

• Prediction: Grizzlies -4 (-110)
• Prediction: Over 230.5 (-110)
• Best bet: Grizzlies -4 (-110)

Predictions made on 1/13/2022 at 1:15 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.

Timberwolves vs Grizzlies game info

• Location: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN
• Date: Thursday, January 13, 2022
• Tip-off: 8:00 p.m. ET
• TV: BSSE-MEM

Timberwolves vs Grizzlies betting preview

Injuries

Timberwolves: Jaylen Nowell SG (Doubtful), Leandro Bolmaro SF (Out).
Grizzlies: Dillon Brooks SG (Out), Steven Adams C (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.

Betting trend to know

The Grizzlies have not only won 10 games in a row straight up, but they've also covered the spread in seven straight and in nine of those 10 wins. Find more NBA betting trends for Timberwolves vs. Grizzlies.

Timberwolves vs Grizzlies picks and predictions

Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.

Spread analysis

These two met twice in November, with the latter game a 43-point Timberwolves victory that would be impossible to envision during Memphis' current 10-game winning streak. Two weeks before that, they went to overtime in a loss at Memphis. That may explain why this spread is so close despite the Grizzlies being the best story in the league right now while Minnesota props its record up with wins against the Western Conference’s worst.

That Memphis hot streak makes it rather impossible to argue for a Timberwolves handicap here. And very few of those 10 straight wins were all that close. Memphis narrowly beat the Suns 114-113 on Dec. 27, but Phoenix has the best record in the NBA so a tightly-contested game makes a ton of sense. The Grizzlies later topped the Cavaliers by four points on Jan. 4, but otherwise, their wins during this stretch have been by substantial margins.

At some point, the public will put too much faith in the Grizzlies and someone will notch a win despite some Morant heroics. Frankly, that will probably come in their next few games with matchups against the Mavericks, Bulls, and Bucks on the immediate horizon.

If there is a Minnesota argument here, it is that. Perhaps the Grizzlies can be caught looking ahead at those more high-profile matchups against genuine contenders. But betting on that when Memphis is at home in front of one of the best crowds in the league would be a reach.

Even a Timberwolves fan has to acknowledge they are not a matchup for the Grizzlies amid this ascension.

Prediction: Grizzlies -4 (-110)

Over/Under analysis

These are two offenses functioning at peak efficiency. The last three Timberwolves games averaged a combined total of 252.3 points. The last three Grizzlies games averaged a combined total of 233.7 points.

Looking even further back, in their five games across the last two seasons — dating back exactly one year from tonight — these two have combined to average 240.6 points per game. Only once in those five games did the Under hit.

These are two offenses that fit well against the respective opposing defense.

Prediction: Over 230.5 (-110)

Best bet

Minnesota has been playing better of late, but doing so against the Pelicans, Rockets, Thunder, Clippers, and even the Lakers is not all that reassuring, and those have been the Timberwolves' last six opponents, facing Oklahoma City twice. Going 4-2 ATS in that stretch should be a bare minimum expectation.

The Grizzlies have upset the Suns, the Nets, and the Warriors during this winning streak, and that warrants more stock.

Unless Anthony Edwards chooses to match Morant from the opening tip — something Edwards tried to do in the fourth quarter against Brandon Ingram on Tuesday, scoring 20 points in the final frame on 7-of-10 shooting — this Memphis run justifies further faith. And if Edwards and Morant do go head-to-head for four quarters tonight, then all NBA fans win, anyway.

Pick: Grizzlies -4 (-110)

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