Minnesota Timberwolves vs Utah Jazz Prediction, 12/26/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Utah Jazz

Date: Saturday, December 26, 2020

Location: Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, UT

TV: Fox Sports North

Odds/Point Spread: Minnesota (+8)

Vivint Smart Home Arena is the venue where and the Utah Jazz (44-28 last year) will play the Minnesota Timberwolves (19-45 last season) on Saturday. Minnesota opens this matchup as 8-point underdogs. The over/under has been set at 225.5.

The Minnesota Timberwolves faced the Detroit Pistons and walked away with a win by a score of 111-101 in their last contest. Minnesota wrapped up the game having earned a 43.2% field goal percentage (38 of 88) and converted 11 of 41 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the charity stripe, the Timberwolves buried 24 of 28 shots for a rate of 85.7%. In reference to hauling in boards, they collected a total of 48 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 25 assists for the game while getting 6 steals and 5 blocks. With respect to defending, Minnesota allowed 48.4% from the floor on 45 of 93 shooting. Detroit earned 29 dimes and had 5 steals for the contest. Additionally, the Pistons totaled 44 boards (7 offensive, 37 defensive) and got 2 blocks. Detroit ended up shooting 37.5% at the charity stripe by converting 3 of 8 shots. They made 8 out of their 35 tries from beyond the perimeter.

Josh Okogie is a player who was a major contributor in this contest. He accounted for 12 points on 4 of 9 shooting. He played for 32:33 mins and snagged 4 boards. Okogie finished 44.4% from the field and also dished out 2 dimes. One more player that was a factor in the matchup for the Timberwolves was Karl-Anthony Towns. He totaled 11 boards and accounted for 7 dimes. He finished 60.0% from the floor for the game by shooting 6-of-10 (22 points). When all was said and done, Towns saw the court for 30:26 min.

Minnesota comes into this matchup after finishing with a mark of 19-45 last year. They averaged 113.3 pts per contest (12th in the league) on 44.1% from the floor. The Timberwolves hit on 33.6% on shots from 3-point land (853 of 2,540) and 75.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Minnesota pulled down 44.8 rebounds per contest and had 1,525 dimes over the course of last season, which was 27th in basketball in terms of passing. They lost possession by turning the ball over 15.3 times per contest and as a team committed 21.4 fouls every game. On the defensive end, the Timberwolves forced 15.5 turnovers per game while drawing 21.6 personal fouls. They conceded 36.3% on 3-point attempts and they were ranked 28th in the league in points per game allowed (117.5). The Timberwolves defense allowed an opponent FG percentage of 47.7% (2,760 of 5,786) and they conceded 47.3 rebounds per contest as a unit. They were ranked 2nd in the NBA in giving up assists with 1,560 surrendered last season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Utah Jazz got the victory with a final of 120-100 against the Portland Blazers. The Jazz were able to corral 47 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds for a total of 59 in the matchup. They rejected 3 shots while recording 3 steals for the game. The Blazers were called for 18 fouls in this matchup which took the Jazz to the free throw line for a total of 19 shots. They were able to make 15 of the free throws for a percentage of 78.9%. When it comes to 3-point attempts, Utah made 19 of 50 attempts (38.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Jazz shot 43 out of 94 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.7%. The Jazz permitted the Blazers to bury 37 of 92 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 40.2% for the contest. They went 36.4% from three-point range by going 12 out of 33 and finished the game at 14 of 17 at the free throw line (82.4%). When discussing how they attacked the glass, Utah allowed Portland to collect 40 in total (6 offensive).

Bojan Bogdanović ended up having an impact for the Jazz in this game. He made 5 of 14 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 35.7%, which got him 15 points. Bogdanović grabbed 6 boards in his 33:12 mins of time on the hardwood and accumulated 2 assists for the game. Someone else who was a determining factor for Utah was Donovan Mitchell. He ended up scoring 20 points in his 30:47 mins played via 6 of 16 shooting in the game. Mitchell walked away from this one going 37.5% from the field as well as earning 5 assists and 3 rebounds.

Utah had a mark of 44-28 last year. Utah tallied 8,013 points throughout last year (111.3 per game) and they collected 44.9 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Jazz connected on 47.1% from the floor, which ranked them 6th in basketball. The Jazz were responsible for committing 20.4 fouls per game and they went 77.9% from the free throw line. They got an assist 22.4 times per contest (26th in the league) and they coughed up possession 15.1 times per contest. The Jazz on defense were ranked 9th in the NBA in points given up per game with 108.8. They allowed 21.5 assists and 42.7 total rebounds per game, which had them ranked 1st and 5th in the NBA. The Utah defense allowed 35.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter (790 of 2,235) and their opponents made 76.7% of their free throw attempts. They were able to force 12.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and let teams shoot 45.7% from the floor (12th in basketball).

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Utah (-8) and under 225.5 points

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