Basketball Weekend Watch & Bet

Match information

For the first time in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, the Minnesota Timberwolves approached Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks as favorites to win the series (-170). The Phoenix Suns (-130) were favored to beat Minnesota in the first round, and the Denver Nuggets (-205) were favored in the second round. Despite Vegas listing the Timberwolves as underdogs throughout the postseason, they knocked the defending champions off in seven games and swept the Suns, complete with two elite scorers and one future Hall of Famer, in the first round. Once Denver was set packing after its 98-90 Game 7 loss, Minnesota became the team to beat in the Western Conference with all the momentum as the team rose to a place it hadn’t been since May 2004. Additionally, the Wolves had home-court advantage in the Western Conference Finals. However, the Mavericks — who were four-point underdogs — ripped that advantage away from the ascending Wolves after their 108-105 Game 1 win on Wednesday night. Minnesota desperately needs to even the series up at one piece in Game 2 on Friday before the series shifts to Dallas for the first time. Home-court advantage has already been lost, but the Wolves winning Game 2 would flip the WCF to a five-game series.