The Minnesota Timberwolves have now won back-to-back games to open this playoff series and they now go out on the road to Phoenix in an attempt to take game three from the Suns and keep this momentum rolling as they make the push toward the NBA Finals. We take a look at this matchup to make a Timberwolves-Suns prediction and pick.

(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

Minnesota Timberwolves (58-28) have been looking like the real deal early on in these NBA playoffs as they are now up 2-0 against Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and the Phoenix Suns. In the opening game of the series, the Timberwolves took it to the Suns downing them with a 25-point victory with a big thanks to Anthony Edwards 33 points.

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However, game two was certainly more closely contested but the Timberwolves pulled away late outscoring the Suns 55-42 in the second half. Their defense has been their biggest asset all season long and it's been no different in the playoffs.

While Durant has been playing out of his mind, the Timberwolves have been limiting the damage from Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and the rest of this supporting cast.

While the Phoenix Suns are the favorite coming into this matchup due to their homecourt advantage, do not sleep on Anthony Edwards and this Timberwolves team. They will be out to prove the doubters wrong yet again when they head to Phoenix in this Friday night playoff matchup.

Phoenix Suns (48-37) came out flat in that first game of the series against Milwaukee. They let the Timberwolves have their way with them all game long and Durant did all he could by himself but it wasn't enough to combat Edwards and company.

However, in their second meeting, the Suns did a better job defensively but on offense, they struggled mightily as a whole. Durant and Booker combined for just 38 points and no other player on the court scored more than 15 points.

It has been a very disappointing run for the Phoenix Suns during this playoff series and they will need to do something to derail this Timberwolves momentum.

The Suns have the firepower to get back on track, especially on their homecourt and that is exactly what they intend on doing. We can expect a fired-up Suns squad when they play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night in game three of this NBA playoff series.

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES VS. PHOENIX SUNS FANDUEL ODDS FOR ARR. 26

MONEY LINE

• MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: +188
• PHOENIX SUNS: -225

SPREAD

• MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: +5 (-112)
• PHOENIX SUNS: -5 (-108)

OVER/UNDER (TOTAL)

• OVER 208.5 (-108)
• UNDER 208.5 (-112)

BEST ODDS FOR MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES VS. PHOENIX SUNS

• The Phoenix Suns are -5-point favorites against the Minnesota Timberwolves. BetMGM currently has the best odds at -4.5 (-115)

• The Minnesota Timberwolves are the underdogs by 5 points to cover the spread. Hard Rock Bet currently has the best odds at +5 (-105)
• BetRivers currently has the best odds for the total, which is set at 208 (-110) for the over, and (-110) for the under

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES VS. PHOENIX SUNS INJURY REPORT

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES INJURY REPORT

• KYLE ANDERSON - QUES FRI - HIP
• JAYLEN CLARK - OUT - ACHILLES

PHOENIX SUNS INJURY REPORT

• GRAYSON ALLEN - QUES FRI - ANKLE
• DAMION LEE - OUT - KNEE

WHY MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES WILL COVER THE SPREAD

The Minnesota Timberwolves look poised to make a deep run in the Western Conference playoffs. Coming out and taking it to the Phoenix Suns like they have in the first two games of the series the way they did was very unexpected.

In that first game, it was all Anthony Edwards who scored a team-high 33 points and the likes of,

• Rudy Gobert (14 points, 16 rebounds)
• Karl-Anthony Towns (19 points)
• Nickeil Alexander-Walker (18 points)

assisted in their dominant game one victory.

In their second game of the series, Edwards took a secondary role and let the rest of his team shine. He finished with only 15 points but it was Jaden McDaniels who had himself a game scoring a game-high 25 points while downing the Suns by 12 points.

However, this game will be different entirely and that's mainly because the Phoenix Suns are home and will be playing in front of their home crowd where the Suns have been dominant with a 24-16 record.

The Timberwolves boast the best defense in the NBA and they are top in most statistical categories:

The Timberwolves offense may not be as efficient as their defense is but they are still third in the league in 3-point percentage. This comes down to the Timberwolves keeping that defensive tenacity even on the road and if they can do that they can steal one away on the road and put the pressure on the Suns to have to win four in a row to overtake them in the playoffs.

WHY PHOENIX SUNS WILL COVER THE SPREAD

The Phoenix Suns are certainly not living up to the hype they had to start the NBA season. Many believe that the addition of Bradley Beal was going to get this Phoenix Suns team to the Promise Land but that couldn't be further from the truth. The Suns do have a chance to right the ship and gain some momentum with a home victory on Friday night, however.

In the first game of the series, Kevin Durant tried to put the team on his back scoring 31 points but the lack of production from the rest of the team was astonishing, especially for players like Booker and Beal who both scored less than 20 points.

In the second game, while Booker and Beal played a smidge better, Durant took a backseat and only scored 18 points while the entire Suns offense was stifled by the Timberwolves lockdown defense.

This Phoenix Suns team is going to need to play better collectively and put this Timberwolves defense on its heels and if they can do that they can get one back and start their playoff run.

FINAL TIMBERWOLVES-SUNS PICK & PREDICTION

The Phoenix Suns certainly aren't an easy out for any team in the playoffs, especially with the likes of,

• Kevin Durant
• Devin Booker
• Bradley Beal

However, they got paired up with their kryptonite which happens to be the Minnesota Timberwolves who are a team that can run and play in space and lock down on defense.

We can expect the Suns trio to pick it up in their first home game of the series but the lack of depth behind him will be their demise yet again.

It will be close until the Timberwolves hanker down the stretch. The Timberwolves are a team to watch out for in this NBA playoffs that could potentially beat the big powerhouse that is the Denver Nuggets and they will be good in this Friday night playoff matchup as they go up 3 games to 0 and cover the spread.

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FINAL TIMBERWOLVES-SUNS PICK & PREDICTION: MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES +5 (-112)

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