Minnesota Timberwolves vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 12/27/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Sunday, December 27, 2020

Location: STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: NBATV

Odds/Point Spread: Minnesota (+11)

The Minnesota Timberwolves head to STAPLES Center on Sunday where they'll take on the Los Angeles Lakers. The odds on this matchup have Los Angeles as 11-point favorites. The O/U opens at 224.

The Minnesota Timberwolves faced the Detroit Pistons and notched a win by a score of 111-101 in their last contest. Minnesota finished the game with a 43.2% field goal percentage (38 of 88) and converted 11 of their 41 shots from distance. From the charity stripe, the Timberwolves made 24 of their 28 attempts for a rate of 85.7%. In regard to rebounding, they compiled 48 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 25 assists for the matchup as well as having 6 steals and 5 rejections. In the matter of defense, Minnesota allowed 48.4% from the field on 45 out of 93 shooting. Detroit recorded 29 assists and had 5 steals for the game. Additionally, the Pistons totaled 44 rebounds (7 offensive, 37 defensive) and earned 2 blocks. Detroit finished the game at 37.5% from the free throw line by knocking down 3 of their 8 attempts. They also made 8 of their 35 attempts from downtown.

Malik Beasley is a guy who was a major contributor in this contest. He notched 23 points on 10 out of 18 shooting. He played 26:37 minutes played and also collected 4 boards. Beasley walked away from this one shooting 55.6% from the floor and also distributed 2 assists. One more player that was a contributor in the matchup for the Timberwolves was Karl-Anthony Towns. He pulled down 11 boards and also totaled 7 dimes. He finished the contest at 60.0% from the field in this game via 6-of-10 (22 points). Overall, Towns played 30:26 min.

Minnesota enters this contest after finishing with a win-loss mark of 19-45 last year. They gave up possession 15.3 times per contest and as a unit committed 21.4 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a basketball team, Minnesota collected 44.8 rebounds per game and earned 1,525 dimes last season, which had them ranked 27th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Timberwolves hit on 33.6% on shots from 3-point land (853 of 2,540) and 75.3% from the free throw line. They averaged 113.3 points per contest (12th in basketball) while going 44.1% from the floor. When they were on defense, the Timberwolves forced their opponents into 15.5 turnovers per game and they drew 21.6 personal fouls. The Timberwolves defense allowed a shooting percentage of 47.7% (2,760 of 5,786) and they relinquished 47.3 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They were 2nd in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,560 surrendered last season. They relinquished 36.3% on 3-point attempts while they were 28th in the league in points per game allowed (117.5).

When they last stepped on the court, the Los Angeles Lakers got the victory with a final of 138-115 against the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers were able to collect 36 defensive boards and 17 offensive boards for a total of 53 in this game. They stuffed 4 attempts while getting 9 steals for this game. The Mavericks committed 22 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Lakers to the free throw line for a total of 24 attempts. They were able to knock down 17 of those for a percentage of 70.8%. When discussing 3-point attempts, Los Angeles converted 19 of 39 attempts (48.7%). When the final whistle was blown, the Lakers went 51 for 91 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 56.0%. The Lakers permitted the Mavericks to convert 41 of their 83 attempts from the field which had them shooting 49.4% in the matchup. They went 40.6% from beyond the arc by hitting 13 out of 32 and ended up shooting 20 out of 26 at the charity stripe (76.9%). When discussing how they rebounded, Los Angeles allowed Dallas to grab 27 in all (3 on the offensive glass).

LeBron James was important for the Lakers for the contest. He buried 8 of 18 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 44.4%, which got him 22 points. James pulled down 7 rebounds in his 31:24 minutes of time on the hardwood and accounted for 10 dimes in this contest. Someone else that ended up playing a role for Los Angeles was Anthony Davis. He totaled 28 points in 30:17 mins on the hardwood by way of 10 of 16 from the floor for this game. Davis ended up shooting 62.5% from the field as well as earning 5 assists and 8 rebounds.

Los Angeles had a win-loss mark of 52-19 last season. As an offensive team, the Lakers shot 48.0% from the floor, which was ranked 1st in the league. Los Angeles totaled 8,054 points last season (113.4 per contest) and they averaged 45.7 rebounds per game. Their rate of dishing out assists was at 25.4 times per game (10th in the league) and they turned the ball over 15.2 times per contest. The Lakers were responsible for committing 20.7 personal fouls every game while shooting 72.9% from the charity stripe. The Lakers on defense were ranked 4th in basketball in PPG given up with 107.6. The Los Angeles defense gave up 34.9% on 3-point shots (827 of 2,373) and opponents connected on 78.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They forced their opponents into 15.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and allowed teams to shoot 44.8% from the floor (8th in the NBA). They allowed 23.4 dimes and 42.3 rebounds per game, which ranked them 7th and 2nd in the NBA.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Los Angeles (-11)

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