Posted at 11:15 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle +11½ -105 BET365 +11 -105 Sportsinteraction +11½ -115 888Sport +11½ -118

Washington +11½ over Minnesota

Best Odds: -105 at Pinnacle

7:00 PM EST. When you're betting on "bad teams," you better have a slew of damn good reasons. At least that's what we say here at SW. Wednesday presents a great opportunity to fade a team that we know and the whole world knows is much better than its opponent, simply because it's coming at the right time. Let us explain.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the best programs in the association, and they've been so all season. At 30-13, they're tied with the OKC Thunder as the #1 team in the West. Chris Finch's group is predicated by stingy defense, a roster that's led by budding superstar Anthony Edwards and veteran point guard, Mike Conley. Their front court is a mismatch for virtually every opponent they face, since the 7'1" defensive guru Rudy Robert stands beside fellow starter/big and 7-footer Karl-Anthony Towns, true twin-towers that can dominate at the rim. 

Now let's burst Minnesota's bubble as quickly as we blew it up. Two nights ago, the T-Wolves decided to turn a professional NBA contest into a sideshow. Towns scored a whopping 44 points by the end of the first half Monday, a historic night no-doubt, but the game turned into a tasteless exhibition. Timberwolves' players force-fed Towns all second half, giving him 24 more shot attempts than any other player. After a rousing two quarters, Towns only scored 18 points in the second half and Minnesota, who's been one of the best defenses in the NBA for 3 months and running, decided to forego any resistance against the downtrodden Hornets. Unsurprisingly, the T-Wolves lost straight up, at home, to a team that had only won 9 games prior. And their defense permitted 128 points to one of the NBA's most pitiful offenses. 

Now usually that kind of embarrassment might lead us to want to wager on the team that messed up. Not in this case. Head coach Chris Finch was pissed off after the contest, calling his team "immature" and saying they disrespected the sport. Not a good look, but we agree. After Monday's loss, Minnesota begins a four-game road stretch, a trip that will have them away from home for over a week. They also have another away contest tomorrow night, against a Nets' squad that's playing much better basketball right now. It's hard to imagine that Chris Finch, who was livid after their performance on Monday, is on "good terms" with his players just 48 hours later, especially away from home. They're also facing an operation that's looking better than usual tonight.

The Washington Wizards are one of the worst teams in the NBA, there's little argument about that. They're a mess most nights, lacking chemistry and rarely committing any energy on defense, but lately they're looking a little bit better. Normally one of the lowest-rated programs by any standard metric, over the last two weeks the Wizards are 20th in offensive efficiency and 15th in defensive efficiency. They're also the fastest team in the NBA over that span, and their assist percentage is considerably higher, ranked 6th. Even better, they've covered ATS in four of their last five contests as an underdog, including 3 straight covers as a pooch the last two weeks. But even if the Wizards were as pitiful as always, this is way too many points for a Minnesota team that's not on good terms with their coach. We gotta take the dangerous dog.

Farley

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