Timberwolves vs. Mavericks prediction: NBA playoffs Game 5 picks, props

The Timberwolves will try to keep their NBA Finals hopes alive on their home court in Game 5 against the Mavericks on Thursday night. 

If Minnesota is going down, it’ll go down with the ball in Anthony Edwards’ hands. 

The 22-year-old superstar has gone from high-volume scorer to master distributor over the past several games, racking up the assists as his ball-handling duties increase. 

Over his past seven games dating back to Game 5 against the Nuggets, Edwards is averaging 7.6 assists per game, which is, by far, the most over a seven-game span over his four-year career. 

Edwards has had the ball in his hands much more than usual as the Timberwolves depend on their star in pursuit of their first conference championship in franchise history.

During the regular season, Edwards and point guard Mike Conley were roughly even in terms of touches and time of possession per game. 

Over the past six games, Edwards has taken control, upping his touches from 70.1 per game to 86.7 and increasing his time of possession by more than 50 percent from five minutes per game to 7.8. 

Conley’s time with the ball has plummeted over that period, suggesting that the Wolves have made a conscious effort to have Edwards as their main distributor. 

Edwards’ assist line is sitting at 6.5 at most major sportsbooks, but a ton of juice is on the Over. 

Betting on the NBA?

Let’s go for a bigger payout and take Edwards to go over 7.5 assists (+120, bet365).

Edwards has gone over this number in four of his last seven games, finishing with exactly seven in two of those contests. 

The only game over the period Edwards finished with fewer than seven assists was Minnesota’s 115-70 blowout over Denver in Game 6 when all of the Timberwolves starters left early. 

The play: Anthony Edwards over 7.5 assists (+120, bet365)