Minnesota Timberwolves vs Utah Jazz Prediction, 12/23/2021 NBA Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Utah Jazz

Date: Thursday, December 23, 2021

Location: Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, UT

TV: AT&T SportsNet

Vivint Arena is where the Utah Jazz (21-9) will try to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves (15-16) on Thursday.

The Timberwolves faced the Mavericks and went home with a loss by a final score of 114-102 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Timberwolves ended up finishing with 22 and the Mavericks had 10 fouls. They also converted 11 out of their 34 tries from 3-point range. Dallas went 82.6% at the charity stripe by knocking down 19 of their 23 attempts. Additionally, Dallas snagged 34 boards (10 offensive, 24 defensive) and added 5 blocks. Dallas doled out 44 assists and had 30 steals in the game. With regard to defense, Minnesota allowed the other team to go 48.8% from the floor on 42 of 86 shooting. They also dished out 26 assists in this matchup while forcing 3 turnovers and getting 4 steals. In reference to rebounding, they earned a total of 39 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Timberwolves made 17 of 20 shots for a percentage of 85.0%. Minnesota ended the contest having earned a 45.6% field goal percentage (36 of 79) and converted 13 of their 40 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Karl-Anthony Towns is one player who was a major contributor in this matchup. Towns finished the game shooting 64.3% from the field and also distributed 7 assists. He played for 38 mins played and also collected 14 rebounds. He walked away with 26 points on 9 out of 14 shooting.

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Minnesota comes into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 15-16 on the year. They have an average of 108.5 points per contest (13th in the league) on 42.9% from the field. The Timberwolves are hitting 34.1% on shots beyond the perimeter (443 of 1,299) and 76.9% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Minnesota is snagging 45.1 boards per contest and has racked up 721 dimes on the year, which is 17th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession by turning the ball over 15.5 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 22.6 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Timberwolves are forcing their opponents into 17.0 turnovers every game while drawing 20.7 personal fouls. They currently rank 25th in the league in giving up assists with 790 conceded so far this season. The Timberwolves defense is giving up a FG percentage of 44.8% (1,197 of 2,673) and they surrender 46.7 boards per contest as a squad. They surrender 33.3% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 20th in the league in points per game allowed (108.7).

For their last game, the Jazz got the win with a final of 112-102 when they played the Hornets. When it comes to how they attacked the glass, Utah permitted Charlotte to get 40 overall (11 on the offensive side). They finished 34.9% from 3-point land via 15 out of 43 and walked away from this one shooting 9 out of 9 from the free throw line (100.0%). The Jazz permitted the Hornets to bury 39 out of their 101 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 38.6% for the game. When all was said and done, the Jazz finished shooting 34 out of 96 from the field which had them shooting 35.4%. Pertaining to shots from beyond the arc, Utah converted 16 of 53 tries (30.2%). They were able to bury 28 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 75.7%. The Hornets had 13 fouls for the matchup which took the Jazz to the charity stripe for a total of 37 attempts. They coughed up the ball 17 times, while earning 4 steals in the game. The Jazz collected 46 defensive boards and 22 offensive boards for a total of 68 in this matchup.

Rudy Gobert was important for the Jazz in the game. He made 4 of 10 in this game giving him a rate of 40.0%, and had 21 rebounds. Gobert totaled 23 points in his 36 mins on the court and had 2 dimes for the game.

Utah has a mark of 21-9 for the year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Jazz are hitting on 47.7% from the field, which is ranked 2nd in the NBA. Utah has scored 3,463 points so far this season (115.4 per game) and they pull in 47.4 boards per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 22.6 times per contest (21st in the NBA) and they turn the ball over 14.7 times per game. The Jazz commit 18.8 personal fouls per game and they shoot 77.3% from the free throw line.

The Utah defense surrenders 32.5% on 3-pointers (327 of 1,005) and opponents are knocking down 76.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 21.6 dimes and 41.5 boards per game, which is ranked 2nd and 2nd in the NBA. The Jazz defensively are ranked 6th in the league in points allowed per game with 105.0. They are forcing 12.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 44.2% from the floor (8th in basketball).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Minnesota

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