Tonight’s game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets is full of injuries. Anthony Edwards (questionable), Rudy Gobert (questionable) and Naz Reid (questionable) all appear on the injury report — and that’s with Karl-Anthony Towns (out) missing, too. So is Rudy Gobert playing tonight? Let’s dive into the latest Rudy Gobert injury update to discuss his odds of playing and how that affects today’s matchup against the Nuggets. If you’re hungry for more picks, check out our NBA betting tools or our NBA betting promos! You can also check out my guide to NBA player prop betting.
Rudy Gobert Injury Update: Is Minnesota’s Center Playing Tuesday?
Rudy Gobert Injury Update | Tuesday, March 19
The Minnesota Timberwolves have been without center Rudy Gobert since March 12. With both him and Towns out, they have been rolling with Naz Reid at the five, which has yielded solid enough results — they scored a pair of road wins over the Utah Jazz, but they did also lose a game to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Gobert has been dealing with a rib injury of late. He missed three of the last four games, briefly making a one-game appearance in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers. He has now missed just five games on the year.
Gobert is a key part of Minnesota’s interior defense, and with him, Towns and Reid now all dealing with injuries, the Timberwolves could be extra thin versus Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. It’s possible that if Reid sits, the Timberwolves push for Gobert to play — their next man up is, uh, Luka Garza, after all.
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Is Rudy Gobert Playing on Tuesday? | Nuggets-Timberwolves Prediction
So is Rudy Gobert playing on Tuesday? There’s a lot of pressure on him to return. The best explanation for why the Timberwolves spent up to acquire him two years ago is that they needed to find a way to stop Jokic. With the Timberwolves fighting with the Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder for the top seed in the Western Conference, it’s hard to see Minnesota not starting Gobert unless he is absolutely unavailable.
Still, while I suspect Gobert will play, Anthony Edwards is a huge question mark, and the Timberwolves have moved from a five-point home dog last night to an eight-point home dog this afternoon.
To take advantage of Minnesota’s injury news, I added today’s boost at Hard Rock to my card for a max wager. According to their website, they boosted Denver’s moneyline to -180 from -275 (always take the initial odds with a grain of salt). However, the same bet is now trading for -325 at their book and -305 at DraftKings. I’m not usually a huge fan of boosts like that one, but it’s too good of a deal to pass up today.
Nuggets-Timberwolves Prediction: Nuggets ML -180 Boosted at Hard Rock
