Get the best Warriors vs. Timberwolves predictions ahead of Tuesday's Game 1 clash. Free NBA picks and predictions for May 6.
The Warriors and Timberwolves kick off their series on Tuesday with plenty of storylines and talking points. As Douglas Farmer explains, Jimmy Butler will be front and center, which is why he's the subject of Game 1's best bet.
No series this postseason will have as many narratives as this second-round matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rudy Gobert and Draymond Green openly disdain each other. Green has made the mistake of not taking Anthony Edwards seriously in the past. Minnesota fans still lament drafting Johnny Flynn over Steph Curry. And then there is how Timberwolves fans feel about Jimmy Butler. Just as true, there is how Jimmy Butler does not show up in front of Minnesota fans.start by discussing the years of that relationship. Rather, the years of it not existing because the newest Warrior has long been too scared to return to Target Center. Tip comes at 9:30 ET on Tuesday, May 6.by making them tip off a second-round series fewer than 46 hours after they won a Game 7 on the road, or the NBA rewarded thefor winning their first-round series in five games and thus enjoying five days off before this tilt against a tired opponent. No matter how you frame it, it is a decisive edge for the team that was already younger, more athletic, and deeper. Minnesota has its work cut out for it in this series, but Golden State going a full seven games against Houston should set up the Timberwolves for a Game 1 victory., calling him “General Soreness” or wondering why he has not played in Minnesota in nearly four years, they do so with good reason. Citing “general soreness” as an excuse to miss games early in the 2018 season deserves long-term ridicule, and ducking out of four of six games in front of Target Center crowds since that ignominious departure reeks of cowardice.Simply put, Jimmy Butler in front of a hostile crowd is not the killer that narratives want him to be. In two games back in front of a full Target Center crowd since his acrimonious departure, Butler has averaged 14 points on 35% shooting. In one game back in Target Center, when fewer than 2,000 fans were allowed in because of pandemic protocols, Butler scored 30 points on 47% shooting. In four games against the Timberwolves outside of Minnesota, he has averaged 19.25 points on 51% shooting. This goes beyond the Timberwolves. In eight revenge spots at his abandoned franchises — including the 76ers and that Heat game in March, but excluding that pandemic-altered game in Minneapolis in 2021 — Butler has averaged 17.25 points on 48% shooting, including 18% from beyond the arc. He has skipped 11 other possible games in Minnesota or Philadelphia. In 12 games in his new homes against his past employers, Butler has averaged 21.3 points on 49% shooting, including 52% from beyond the arc, skipping just two chances to run up those scores. Those are all regular-season numbers. It must be acknowledged that he excelled at Philadelphia in the 2022 playoffs. Then again, Miami lost two of the three road games in that series, Butler shooting 29% from deep on the road and 36% from deep at home, taking two more 3-pointers per game while on the road. In fact, a notable portion of his improved scoring on the road came at the free throw line, not exactly something to rely on in the postseason anymore. Jimmy Butler has long ducked the Target Center crowd. There is a reason his most memorable moment as a Timberwolf came in a practice. Golden State should not look to him for points on the road in this series.Minnesota amazed even itself with how well it responded to preparation time in last year’s playoffs. The Timberwolves loudly credited that for their defense in the 4-0 sweep of the Suns and then also the 2-0 start on the road against Denver. Young teams benefit more from practice and preparation than veteran teams do. The younger team needs that emphasis, lacking some of the institutional knowledge and some of the discipline of veterans. The five days that Minnesota has had off should provide value on its defense, particularly after Golden State just struggled to 103 points in a Game 7 against a lesser defense, not to mention while Steph Curry battles some amount of a thumb injury.Take advantage of the early win payout at bet365, where any pre-game NBA moneyline bet getsSome books opened with this spread favoring Minnesota by 5.5 points, the market quickly moving to -6 and then to -7. Consider that movement a direct reflection of Golden State’s fatigue. It is surprising to see the total slip up by a point to 208.5. Combining that with the spread movement suggests the Warriors’ defense should be the weak point amid their exhaustion. Both Minnesota and Golden State surged to the end the season, the Timberwolves going 17-4 outright after Julius Randle returned from an adductor strain in early March and the Warriors going 23-8 outright after trading for Jimmy Butler.Minnesota has gone 9-4 ATS at home since Julius Randle returned to the lineup in the first days of March. Find more: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links. Douglas Farmer spends his days thinking about college football and his nights thinking about the NBA. His betting habits and coverage follow that same pattern. He covered Notre Dame football for various outlets from 2008 to 2024, most notably spending eight seasons as NBC Sports’ beat writer on the Irish. That was also when his gambling focus took off. Knowing there were veteran beat writers with three decades more experience than he had, Douglas found his niche by best recognizing Notre Dame’s standing in each year’s national landscape, a complex tapestry most easily understood and remembered via betting odds. In 2021, that interest created a freelance opportunity with Covers, a role that eventually led to Douglas joining the company full-time in 2023. In the fall, Douglas will place five or six dozen bets each week, a disproportionate amount via BetRivers because the operator tends to have lines slightly different than the rest of the market. The same can be said of Circa Sports’ futures markets. While Douglas is an avid NBA fan and covers the league throughout the year, the vast majority of his bets are on college football, because that is the biggest key to sports betting: Know what you do not know.Copyright © 1995 - 2025 CS Media Limited All Rights Reserved. If you choose to make use of any information on this website including online sports betting services from any websites that may be featured on this website, we strongly recommend that you carefully check your local laws before doing so.It is your sole responsibility to understand your local laws and observe them strictly.Covers does not provide any advice or guidance as to the legality of online sports betting or other online gambling activities within your jurisdiction and you are responsible for complying with laws that are applicable to you in your relevant locality.Covers disclaims all liability associated with your use of this website and use of any information contained on it.As a condition of using this website, you agree to hold the owner of this website harmless from any claims arising from your use of any services on any third party website that may be featured by Covers.
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