Timberwolves vs. Pelicans, Pick and Prediction, Tuesday, December 2, 2025

The New Orleans Pelicans (3-18) will host the Minnesota Timberwolves (12-8) at the Smoothie King Center. This will be the first head-to-head meeting between these teams on the season.

Check out more big NBA Free Picks and NFL top plays this weekend on Winners and Whiners.

Edwards has been on fire

After dropping three straight games on the road, the Timberwolves bounced back with back-to-back home wins against the Celtics (119-115) and the Spurs (125-112). Minnesota now returns to the road, where they hold a 5-5 record this season.

The Timberwolves have been solid on both ends of the floor. Offensively, they rank ninth in scoring at 119.2 ppg, seventh in field goal percentage at 48.7%, and fourth in three-point shooting at 38.6%. On defense, they are 10th in points allowed at 114.1 ppg, ninth in opponent field goal percentage at 46%, and 11th in defending the three at 35.2%.

In the Western Conference standings, Minnesota sits sixth. Anthony Edwards leads the way, ranking seventh in the NBA with 28.9 ppg and scorching opponents recently, averaging 37.2 PPG over his last five games.

The losing continues

The Pelicans have lost 11 of their last 12 games, although the effort has been better in the last four games. After picking up a rare win on November 24 over the Bulls, the Pelicans followed that up with a 133–128 loss to Memphis last Wednesday, and the losses to the Warriors 104-96, and Lakers 133-121. Against Western Conference opponents, the Pelicans are now just 1–16 straight up,

The Pelicans struggle on both sides of the ball. On offense, they rank 27th in points per game (111.5), 26th in field-goal percentage (44.9%), and  23rd in three-point shooting (34.5%). They’re also inconsistent defensively, giving up 122.1 points per night (26th) and allowing opponents to hit 49.9% from the field (28th).

Injuries continue to pile up, with Herbert Jones and Dejounte Murray out and Jordan Poole and Zion Williamson are listed day-to-day.

Timberwolves vs Pelicans Predictions

T-Wolves vs Pelicans ATS Pick:

• New Orleans Pelicans +9.5 (4 units)

Minnesota is the superior team on paper, but they are a large road favorite here. The Timberwolves are just 1-3 ATS in their last four road games, while the Pelicans have covered in three of their last four games, with the only recent non-cover coming in overtime. After back-to-back home wins against the Celtics and Spurs, which followed a loss to the Thunder, I expect a slight letdown from Minnesota. I’ll take New Orleans to cover.

T-Wolves vs Pelicans Total Pick:

• Under 234.5 (4 units)

The under has cashed in eight of Minnesota’s last 10 games and in three of New Orleans’ last five, and when looking at this matchup, it's hard to go against those trends. Neither team pushes the tempo as the Timberwolves rank 19th in pace, and the Pelicans are 29th. The last five head-to-head meetings have each seen fewer than 235 points scored as well. I do expect the Pelicans to compete at home, but they won't be able to do it in a shootout. I will take the under with this high total.