Anthony Towns for their matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, marking the second consecutive game the star big man sat out after suffering a bone chip and sprain in his shooting thumb earlier in the week.

Karl-Anthony Towns missed his second straight game because of a sprained right thumb, sitting out against his former team when the New York Knicks hosted Minnesota on Friday night. Jericho Sims started at center for the Knicks.

As a reminder, these teams exchanged superstars in the offseason with Julius Randle heading to Minneapolis and Karl-Anthony Towns moving to the Big Apple. The Timberwolves lost at home Wednesday night to the Golden State Warriors, 116-115. New York won in overtime Wednesday in Philadelphia, 125-119, over the 76ers.

Julius Randle appears to be on increasingly thin ice in Minnesota, not closing as many games, not endearing himself to the fans, and his albatross of a player option is threatening the Timberwolves’ ability to retain Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid.

The home team is favored by 2.5 points in the latest Pistons vs. Pacers odds, and the over/under is 228.5 points according to the SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Pacers vs. Pistons picks, you'll want to see the NBA predictions from the advanced computer model at SportsLine.