Cleveland Cavaliers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, 1/31/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Date: Sunday, January 31, 2021

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: Fox Sports Ohio

Odds/Point Spread: Cleveland (-2)

The Minnesota Timberwolves (4-14) host the Cleveland Cavaliers (9-10) at Target Center on Sunday. The odds on this matchup have Cleveland as 2-point favorites. The total opens at 220.

The Cleveland Cavaliers faced the New York Knicks and went home with a loss by a final score of 102-81 in their last contest. Cleveland finished with a 34.5% field goal percentage (29 out of 84) and made 8 out of their 26 shots from distance. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cavaliers buried 15 of 18 attempts for a rate of 83.3%. With respect to rebounding, they compiled 43 with 14 of them being offensive. They also distributed 15 assists for the game as well as earning 8 steals and 5 blocked shots. In reference to defending, Cleveland allowed 48.8% from the field on 39 out of 80 shooting. New York distributed 20 dimes and had 8 steals for this game. In addition, the Knicks collected 41 rebounds (8 offensive, 33 defensive) and had 6 blocks. New York finished shooting 87.5% from the charity stripe by knocking down 14 of their 16 tries. They also converted 10 of their 27 shots from 3-point range.

Darius Garland is a guy who came through in this contest. He ended up scoring 24 points on 9 of 17 shooting. He saw the court for 29:06 minutes and also grabbed 3 boards. Garland ended up going 52.9% from the floor and earned 2 dimes. One more player that was a major contributor in this matchup for the Cavaliers was Collin Sexton. He grabbed 2 boards and also accumulated 5 assists. He finished the game shooting 33.3% from the field for the matchup by shooting 6-of-18 (17 points). When all was said and done, Sexton played 34:54 min.

Cleveland heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 9-10 so far this year. They turn it over 16.2 times per game and as a squad they are committing 19.7 fouls per contest. As a unit, Cleveland is collecting 43.6 boards per game and is sitting with 445 assists so far this year, which is 19th in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. The Cavaliers are shooting 36.1% on 3-point shots (190 of 527) and 70.8% from the free throw line. They have an average of 104.2 pts per contest (29th in the league) while hitting 45.0% from the field. On the defensive end, the Cavaliers are forcing 17.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 20.1 personal fouls. The Cavaliers defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 46.7% (334 of 381) and they concede 44.7 boards per game as a basketball team. They are currently ranked 20th in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 471 conceded for the season. They give up 38.8% on three-point shots and they are ranked 7th in the NBA in PPG allowed (108.6).

In their last game, the Minnesota Timberwolves went home defeated by a final of 118-94 when they faced the Philadelphia 76ers. The Timberwolves collected 34 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards for a total of 38 in this matchup. They also stuffed 4 attempts while getting 3 steals for the game. The 76ers committed 17 fouls for the matchup which got the Timberwolves to the free throw line for a total of 18 shots. They were able to make 14 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 77.8%. Pertaining to shots from 3-point land, Minnesota made 10 of 33 tries (30.3%). When the final whistle was blown, the Timberwolves shot 35 out of 82 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 42.7%. The Timberwolves permitted the 76ers to convert 39 of 87 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.8% for the contest. They wrapped up this game 50.0% from three-point range by going 8 out of 16 and ended up going 32 of 38 from the free throw line (84.2%). Concerning cleaning up the glass, Minnesota allowed Philadelphia to get 51 in total (12 offensive).

Malik Beasley ended up being important for the Timberwolves for the game. He converted 9 out of 19 for the contest for a rate of 47.4%, which got him 22 points. Beasley snagged 5 boards in his 30:03 mins of time on the hardwood and earned 2 dimes in this matchup. One more player that ended up playing a role for Minnesota was Anthony Edwards. He totaled 15 points in his 28:48 mins played by going 5 of 13 from the floor in the game. Edwards finished going 38.5% from the field and also collecting 3 assists and 4 boards.

Minnesota has a mark of 4-14 on the campaign. Minnesota has tallied 1,919 pts for the year (106.6 per contest) and they pull down 44.1 rebounds per game. The Timberwolves are committing 21.7 fouls per game and they connect on 75.8% from the free throw line. In terms of offensive execution, the Timberwolves are shooting 43.5% from the floor, which ranks 28th in the league. Their rate of earning assists is at 23.9 times per contest (19th in the NBA) and they are giving up possession 15.3 times per game. The Timberwolves on the defensive end are ranked 27th in the league in PPG allowed with 117.1. They have allowed 26.3 assists and 46.7 rebounds per game, which ranks them 25th and 24th in the NBA. The Minnesota defense concedes 38.4% on 3-point shots (220 of 573) and their opponents are knocking down 77.4% of their free throw shots. They are forcing their opponents into 15.2 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 47.7% from the field (26th in the league).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Minnesota (+2)

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