Minnesota Timberwolves vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 2/5/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Friday, February 5, 2021

Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma

Odds/Point Spread: Minnesota (+2.5)

The Minnesota Timberwolves (5-16) go to Chesapeake Energy Arena on Friday where they'll take on the Oklahoma City Thunder (9-11). Oklahoma City opens this game as 2.5-point favorites. The O/U has been set at 221.

The Minnesota Timberwolves faced the San Antonio Spurs and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 111-108 in their last contest. Minnesota finished the game with a 45.7% FG percentage (43 out of 94) and converted 13 of 33 three-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Timberwolves knocked down 9 of their 11 shots for a percentage of 81.8%. In reference to hauling in rebounds, they earned 49 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 22 assists for this contest while earning 6 steals and 9 rejections. Pertaining to defense, Minnesota allowed the other team to go 44.8% from the field on 43 out of 96 shooting. San Antonio distributed 28 assists and had 5 steals in this game. Moreover, the Spurs totaled 45 boards (7 offensive, 38 defensive) and got 6 blocks. San Antonio finished the game shooting 75.0% at the charity stripe by making 18 of their 24 shots. They converted 7 out of their 26 attempts from three-point range.

Malik Beasley is a player who was a major factor for the contest. He accounted for 29 points on 12 of 18 shooting. He was on the court for 31:42 mins and collected 6 rebounds. Beasley shot 66.7% from the field and dished out 2 assists. One more player that was a factor in the game for the Timberwolves was D'Angelo Russell. He collected 2 rebounds and also accounted for 5 dimes. He went 40.0% from the floor for the matchup via 8-of-20 (20 points). When the game finished, Russell played for 31:19 minutes.

Minnesota will enter this contest with a win-loss mark of 5-16 for the season. The Timberwolves are shooting 34.0% on 3-point shots (245 of 720) and 75.6% from the charity stripe. They average 106.4 points per outing (27th in the league) while shooting 43.4% from the field. They lose possession by turning the ball over 14.4 times per contest and as a group they commit 21.8 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Minnesota is snagging 43.9 boards per game and is sitting with 497 assists on the year, which has them ranked 19th in the league in terms of passing. On the defensive end, the Timberwolves have forced 15.0 turnovers every game and they draw 18.9 fouls. They concede 37.4% on 3-point attempts while they are 25th in the league in points per game allowed (115.4). The Timberwolves defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 47.3% (314 of 396) and they surrender 47.3 rebounds per game as a squad. They are ranked 22nd in basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 547 surrendered on the campaign.

The last time they took the court, the Oklahoma City Thunder walked away with a victory by a final of 104-87 when they faced the Houston Rockets. The Thunder earned 46 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive boards totaling 51 in the matchup. They rejected 5 attempts while earning 13 steals for this contest. The Rockets earned 18 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Thunder to the charity stripe for 26 attempts. They were able to knock down 22 of those for a rate of 84.6%. With regard to shooting from distance, Oklahoma City buried 10 of 33 tries (30.3%). When the final whistle was blown, the Thunder shot 36 out of 83 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.4%. The Thunder permitted the Rockets to make 33 out of 86 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 38.4% for the matchup. They wrapped up this game 26.1% from 3-point land by going 12 out of 46 and walked away from this one shooting 9 of 13 from the free throw line (69.2%). Concerning how they attacked the glass, Oklahoma City permitted Houston to pull down 41 overall (5 offensive).

Darius Bazley was important for the Thunder in this matchup. He buried 6 out of 13 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 46.2%, which gave him 18 points. Bazley totaled 12 rebounds in his 34:15 minutes of time on the court and accounted for 2 assists for the matchup. An additional guy who was a determining factor for Oklahoma City was Al Horford. He ended up scoring 17 points in 29:01 mins played by way of 6 of 10 from the floor for the contest. Horford walked away from this one going 60.0% from the field while also contributing 3 dimes and 6 total rebounds.

Oklahoma City has a mark of 9-11 on the campaign. As an offense, the Thunder are shooting 45.0% from the floor, which has them ranked 23rd in basketball. Oklahoma City has accounted for 2,141 points on the year (107.1 per game) and they snag 44.2 rebounds per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 22.2 times per contest (28th in the league) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 14.6 times per game. The Thunder have committed 18.1 fouls per game and they shoot 73.0% from the free throw line. The Thunder defensively are ranked 24th in the league in points given up per game with 114.1. The Oklahoma City defense concedes 36.0% on 3-pointers (269 of 747) and their opponents are converting on 76.8% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 24.9 dimes and 49.2 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 16th and 30th in basketball. They are forcing their opponents into 12.9 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.1% from the floor (16th in basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Minnesota (+2.5)

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