Kawhi Leonard Over 26 Points
Kawhi is back in the rotation after resting multiple injuries and is logging a ton of minutes. In his last 10 games, Kawhi has played more than 30+ minutes and with his main role on the floor being to score as the Clippers number one option, the 26 point line seems low tonight.
Kawhi has scored 33, 44, 16, and 33 in his last 4 games respectively, all against top Western Conference teams. In the final stretch of the season where playoff seeding is of the upmost importance, the Clippers sit at the 5th seed while the Timberwolves are the 9th seed – only 2 games separate the two teams.
The Clippers need this win after suffering two overtime losses back-to-back. I expect both Kawhi and Paul George to go off tonight with Russel Westbrook helping to spread the floor and create scoring options for both.
Kawhi is dominant in the one on one game and is a master at the mid-range jump shot. With Jaden McDaniels and Kyle Anderson matched up on Kawhi, there is no competition here and Kawhi will control the offensive flow against a subpar Timberwolves defense. We’re going big on the over 26-point line tonight.
Rudy Gobert Over 12 Rebounds and Over 13 Points
The big offseason acquisition for the Timberwolves where they gave up players and 4 first round picks for Rudy Gobert has been a huge disappointment so far. While Gobert can be a double-double machine, these stats are not translating to wins for the Timberwolves.
Luckily for us, all we care about is the 12-rebound line, which we think Gobert will absolutely crush tonight. Gobert has grabbed 19, 14, and 10 rebounds in his last three games respectively and he is going to be a huge mismatch against a Clippers team that is thin on the front court.
Ivica Zubac is questionable for the game tonight so starting in his place tonight would be journeymen Mason Plumlee. Whether Zubac or Plumlee are in the game, I expect Gobert to be dominant on the offensive and defensive boards as this is where his primary responsibility lies.
Gobert has also gone for 15+points in 5 of his last 6 games and this 13-point line tonight also looks extremely low. The way Gobert will be dominant in the paint tonight cleaning up boards is the same way he will be able to score 13+ points. His field goals are 7-9, 8-15, and 9-9 in his last three games and at 7’1, Gobert can score around the basket at ease.
Hammer both the overs for Gobert tonight.