Timberwolves vs. Mavericks series odds: Minnesota opens as favorites in Western Conference Finals

After upsetting the defending champion Nuggets, the Timberwolves are the favorites to win the Western Conference Finals over the Mavericks ahead of the series tip-off on Wednesday night. 

Minnesota is currently -165 at ESPN Bet to make its first NBA Finals in franchise history, making it a decent favorite over Dallas, which is +140 to pull off the upset. 

Both teams are coming off series wins as underdogs during the semifinal round. 

The Wolves opened at +200 at Fanatics against the Nuggets, although the betting public quickly brought that down after hammering Minnesota to win the series.

Oklahoma City was a much slighter favorite than Denver, coming in at -122 at FanDuel versus the Mavericks’ +100 before the series.

The pair has also seen their NBA Championship odds plummet since before the first round after having come in as significant long shots. 

Minnesota has dropped from a whopping +6600 at BetMGM to win the finals to +260 – the second-best odds left in the field behind the favorite Boston Celtics (-150).

Dallas has also seen significant movement, going from +1200 to +500, the third-best odds ahead of the Indiana Pacers, who remain significant long shots at +3000.

The Timberwolves dominated the four matchups during the regular season, going 3-1, although Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving were both on the court for only one of those games – the Mavericks’ only win in the series on Jan. 7.

In that contest, Doncic and Irving combined for 69 points, burning the league-best Minnesota defense in a seven-point win. 

Betting on the NBA?

So far, the betting public is pretty split on who it likes in the series, but it’s the Mavs who are attracting slightly more love. 

Dallas to win the series has gotten 56 percent of bets and 51.2 percent of the handle at ESPN Bet as of Tuesday afternoon. 

Bettors are expecting a long series though – ESPN Bet reported that Timberwolves 4-2 is the most bet exact result at their sportsbook thus far.