Dallas at Minnesota

Anthony Edwards is recovering from knee surgery and last played on October 26, and Minnesota is 5-2 in the seven games since, outscoring opponents by 7.7 points a game. That includes a 115-100 win over Utah on Sunday, a game Lauri Markkanen missed. He scored 24 when Dallas beat Utah 112-100 on Friday, November 6. Over all 11 games, the Timberwolves outscore opponents by 11.1 points a game, third in the NBA, scoring 118.1 a game, sixth-most, and allowing 107, sixth-fewest. Dallas outscores opponents by 4.6 points a game, 11th in the league, and by 9.1 in the nine games Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving both played. Minnesota’s opponents have shot 43.3% from the field in the seven games without Edwards, and Dallas’s opponents have shot 44.3% in those nine. The Mavericks have won three straight, scoring 112, 130 and 125, all at home against Utah, Brooklyn and Indiana. Dallas is 2-2 on the road, and it lost at Houston by 18. Flagg and Irving scored 78 of Dallas’s 125 points against Indiana on Monday. With both of them playing, Dallas has allowed 122 or more points twice, including 122 to Indiana. Minnesota is 3-1 at home without Edwards, outscoring opponents by 12 points a game there, while Dallas’s road margin is 0.3 points a game, and Minnesota is the right side on the moneyline tonight, because I don’t expect Dallas to close that gap on the road.