Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, 12/17/2021 NBA Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Date: Friday, December 17, 2021

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: Spectrum SportsNet

Target Center is the location where the Minnesota Timberwolves (13-15) will take on the Los Angeles Lakers (16-13) on Friday.

The Lakers faced the Mavericks and walked away with a win by a score of 107-104 in their last game. In the matter of fouls, the Lakers ended up with 20 and the Mavericks totaled 11 fouls. They buried 12 of their 44 tries from beyond the perimeter. Dallas ended up going 82.4% at the free throw line by converting 14 of their 17 attempts. On top of that, Dallas grabbed 43 rebounds (8 offensive, 35 defensive) and had 2 blocked shots. Dallas totaled 51 assists and had 22 steals in this contest. With regard to defense, Los Angeles allowed their opponent to shoot 39.8% from the field on 39 out of 98 shooting. They also doled out 24 assists in the matchup while forcing the other team into 3 turnovers and getting 8 steals. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned 46 with 4 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Lakers converted 14 of their 18 tries for a percentage of 77.8%. Los Angeles finished the game with a 43.3% FG percentage (39 of 90) and made 15 of their 39 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Anthony Davis is a guy who was a factor in the matchup. He ended up finishing with 20 points on 8 of 18 shooting. He played 39 mins and totaled 12 rebounds. Davis finished shooting 44.4% from the floor and also distributed 2 dimes.

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Los Angeles steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss mark of 16-13 this season. They have an average of 111.1 pts per contest (6th in the NBA) while hitting 46.5% from the field. The Lakers are connecting on 35.8% on 3-point shots (348 of 973) and 73.3% from the free throw line. As a team, Los Angeles is pulling in 46.3 boards per game and has racked up 709 assists this season, which ranks 11th in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 15.9 times per game and as a group they are committing 19.9 fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Lakers are able to force 15.7 turnovers every game while drawing 19.4 fouls. They are conceding 33.7% from 3-point land while they are 25th in the league in opponents points per game (111.2). The Lakers are allowing a FG percentage of 44.5% (1,185 of 2,662) and they surrender 47.3 boards per contest as a team. They are 27th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 735 conceded on the campaign.

In their last game, the Timberwolves walked away with a victory by a final of 124-107 when they faced the Nuggets. Concerning rebounding, Minnesota permitted Denver to grab 33 overall (9 offensive). They wrapped up this game 35.9% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 14 of 39 and finished the game at 17 out of 23 at the charity stripe (73.9%). The Timberwolves allowed the Nuggets to convert 38 of 84 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.2% for the matchup. When the final whistle was blown, the Timberwolves went 45 for 88 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 51.1%. In regard to shooting from downtown, Minnesota converted 23 of their 48 tries (47.9%). They were able to knock down 11 of the free throws for a percentage of 68.8%. The Nuggets were called for 17 fouls for the game which got the Timberwolves to the free throw line for a total of 16 shots. They also coughed it up 11 times, while recording 10 steals for this game. The Timberwolves were able to pull down 33 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 39 for this contest.

Patrick Beverley ended up being a factor for the Timberwolves in this game. Beverley scored 11 points in his 30 mins on the hardwood and had 8 assists for this contest. He converted 4 out of 9 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 44.4%, and had 2 rebounds.

Minnesota has a record of 13-15 so far this season. On the offensive side of the court, the Timberwolves are hitting on 42.8% from the field, which is 27th in the league. Minnesota has accounted for 3,042 points for the campaign (108.6 per contest) and they snag 45.0 boards per game. They are earning an assist 23.1 times per game (16th in the league) and they are turning it over 15.6 times per contest. The Timberwolves are committing 22.6 personal fouls every game and they hit 77.1% from the free throw line.

The Timberwolves defensively are ranked 21st in basketball in PPG allowed with 109.3. They are able to force 17.4 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 44.9% from the floor (14th in the NBA). The Minnesota defense surrenders 33.7% on 3-point shots (352 of 1,043) and opponents are connecting on 77.9% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 25.3 assists and 47.4 boards every game, which is 25th and 28th in the league.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Minnesota and under the total points

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