The Milwaukee Bucks get set to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday night as both teams open up the second half of the season inside the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They tip it off at 10:00 pm. On paper, this is a great clash to watch.  Bookmaker has installed the Bucks as a solid - 4.5-point favorite in this clash. 

The Bucks (35-21) have had a very interesting season as they fired their HC and brought in veteran Head Coach Doc Rivers, who has not been able to get his feet under him. 

Milwaukee is a good team, but there seems to be something off with their team and perhaps there is some tension building within that locker room. They are still led by their face of the franchise in Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is still putting up some monster numbers this season. He is averaging close to 30 points while hauling down 11.2 rebounds per night.

He is still a very dominant player and a force on the floor, but he needs to get more of his teammates involved as well. Veteran guard Damian Lillard is still a solid player and he is contributing 24 a game to also go with just under five rebounds and six assists per night. 

The issue is that the team is out of sync and they have had issues closing out games but also getting out to fast starts. 

The Timberwolves (39-16) have had an outstanding first half of the season and they appear to have some serious staying power. Younger teams might have hit the skids here and there, but it appears that Minnesota has the talent and the depth to make some noise coming out in the Western Conference. 

They have ripped off four straight wins and five of six overall and they have some big-time scorers they can send out on the floor, including shooting guard Anthony Edwards, who has burst onto the scene and has put up some monster numbers thus far. Edwards controls the flow and tempo on the floor as he is averaging around 26 points per contest to go along with 5.3 assists per night. 

The Timberwolves are a decent shooting team and they connect on close to 52% from the floor, including around 32% from beyond the arc. They love to get up and down the floor and look for Edwards to drive the lane and get the ball into the hands of Karl-Anthony Towns who has turned into a superstar. 

Towns controls the paint and he is averaging around 22 a night. 

The Bucks are 2-3 in their last five games and 2-3 in their last five games against the number. They are also 9-17 in their road games against the spread too. The totals have gone over in two out of their last five games and also the totals have gone over in 18 out of their last 30 games at home. Minnesota is a solid 4-1 in their last five games and 4-1 in their last five games against the number too. They are 16-14 in their road games against the spread, and the totals have gone over in nine out of their last 24 games at home.