Washington Wizards vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, 1/1/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Washington Wizards vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Date: Friday, January 1, 2021

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: Fox Sports North

The Minnesota Timberwolves (2-2) play the Washington Wizards (0-4) at Target Center on Friday.

The Washington Wizards stepped onto the hardwood against the Chicago Bulls and went home with a loss by a final score of 115-107 in their last contest. Washington finished having earned a 44.0% field goal percentage (37 out of 84) and converted 10 of their 37 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Wizards made 23 of their 26 shots for a rate of 88.5%. In relation to pulling down rebounds, they earned 47 with 8 of them being offensive. They also recorded 25 assists for this game while having 6 steals and 6 rejections. When talking about defending, Washington let their opponent shoot 43.7% from the field on 38 of 87 shooting. Chicago distributed 26 assists and had 7 steals in the matchup. Additionally, the Bulls pulled down 37 rebounds (5 offensive, 32 defensive) and had 2 blocked shots. Chicago finished the contest at 75.0% at the charity stripe by knocking down 24 of 32 tries. They also buried 15 of their 36 shots from beyond the arc.

Bradley Beal is a player who came through in this contest. He ended up finishing with 29 points on 9 out of 20 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 36:32 minutes and also snagged 4 rebounds. Beal finished 45.0% from the field and also recorded 3 dimes. Another guy that had an impact in the game for the Wizards was Russell Westbrook. He totaled 15 rebounds and also accumulated 11 assists. He finished the game at 52.9% from the field for the game by hitting 9-of-17 (21 points). Overall, Westbrook played 37:44 minutes.

Washington comes into this matchup with a win-loss record of 0-4 so far this season. They are losing possession via turnover 17.0 times per game and as a group are committing 26.3 fouls every game. As a unit, Washington is pulling down 44.3 boards per game and has accounted for 108 assists on the year, which is 11th in the NBA in terms of passing. The Wizards are hitting 33.1% on shots beyond the perimeter (44 of 133) and 72.2% from the free throw line. They average 111.8 points per contest (18th in basketball) while shooting 46.8% from the floor. Defensively, the Wizards are forcing their opponents into 14.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.8 fouls. They give up 35.8% from beyond the arc while they are 22nd in basketball in PPG allowed (119.5). The Wizards defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 46.3% (56 of 83) and they relinquish 45.8 rebounds per contest as a team. They are 7th in the NBA in giving up assists with 92 surrendered on the season.

When they last played, the Minnesota Timberwolves took a defeat with a final score of 124-101 against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Timberwolves were able to collect 28 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 39 in this contest. They also rejected 6 tries while getting 7 steals for this game. The Clippers had 21 fouls in the matchup which got the Timberwolves to the charity stripe for a total of 17 shots. They were able to make 14 of those for a rate of 82.4%. Pertaining to shots from beyond the arc, Minnesota made 13 out of their 38 attempts (34.2%). Overall, the Timberwolves shot 37 for 89 from the field which gave them a percentage of 41.6%. The Timberwolves allowed the Clippers to make 47 of their 88 tries from the floor which had them shooting 53.4% for the matchup. They wrapped up this game 51.6% from three-point range by hitting 16 of 31 and finished the game at 14 out of 16 from the charity stripe (87.5%). In the matter of how they attacked the glass, Minnesota allowed Los Angeles to get 46 in total (7 offensive).

D'Angelo Russell was important for the Timberwolves in this matchup. He converted 9 of 19 in this matchup for a rate of 47.4%, which gave him 22 points. Russell had 3 boards in his 31:03 mins of playing time and had 4 dimes for the matchup. Someone else that was important for Minnesota was Malik Beasley. He totaled 19 points in 28:05 mins on the court by going 5 of 16 from the floor in this contest. Beasley wrapped this one up going 31.3% from the field in addition to earning 2 dimes and 4 rebounds.

Minnesota has a win-loss record of 2-2 on the season. In terms of offensive execution, the Timberwolves are shooting 41.5% from the floor, which ranks 28th in the league. Minnesota has totaled 419 pts so far this season (104.8 per contest) and they pull in 43.8 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 23.0 times per contest (23rd in basketball) and they are turning it over 13.5 times per game. The Timberwolves are responsible for committing 20.8 fouls every game and they shoot 77.9% from the free throw line. The Timberwolves on the defensive side of the court are 21st in basketball in points given up per game with 115.8. They have forced 16.5 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 48.8% from the floor (27th in the league). The Minnesota defense gives up 34.8% on 3-point attempts (47 of 135) and their opponents are converting on 75.9% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquish 27.0 assists and 48.3 boards per contest, which is 25th and 25th in the league.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Washington

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