Oklahoma City Thunder vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, 3/22/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Date: Monday, March 22, 2021

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: Fox Sports North

Odds/Point Spread: Oklahoma City (+2)

Target Center is the site where and the Minnesota Timberwolves (10-32) will play the Oklahoma City Thunder (17-24) on Monday. Oklahoma City opens this contest as 2-point dogs. The O/U has been set at 225.

The Oklahoma City Thunder stepped onto the hardwood against the Atlanta Hawks and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 116-93 in their last game. Oklahoma City walked away from the contest with a 36.6% field goal percentage (34 out of 93) and buried 13 of 34 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Thunder made 12 of 16 tries for a percentage of 75.0%. With respect to grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 38 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 18 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 14 turnovers and having 5 steals. In the matter of defense, Oklahoma City allowed the other team to shoot 54.0% from the floor on 47 of 87 shooting. Atlanta distributed 26 assists and had 6 steals for the contest. On top of that, Atlanta snagged 50 rebounds (6 offensive, 44 defensive) and added 3 blocks. Atlanta ended up shooting 84.6% from the charity stripe by knocking down 11 of 13 shots. They converted 11 out of their 33 tries from 3-point range.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one guy who was a major contributor in the game. He ended up walking away with 19 points on 8 of 18 shooting. He was on the court for 30:52 minutes played and pulled down 3 boards. Gilgeous-Alexander finished shooting 44.4% from the floor and totaled 4 dimes. Someone else that was a contributor in this contest for the Thunder was Al Horford. He collected 6 rebounds in his 24:32 minutes on the basketball court. He finished shooting 23.1% from the floor in this contest by going 3-of-13 (11 points). When the game finished, Horford earned 2 assists.

Oklahoma City comes into this one with a mark of 17-24 on the campaign. They currently have an average of 106.0 points per game (27th in basketball) while going 44.8% from the field. The Thunder are shooting 34.6% on shots beyond the perimeter (525 of 1,517) and 74.4% from the free throw line. As a unit, Oklahoma City is snagging 44.3 rebounds per contest and has racked up 936 assists for the year, which ranks 24th in the league in terms of passing. They cough up possession 14.7 times per game and as a unit are committing 18.2 fouls on a nightly basis. On the defensive end, the Thunder are able to force 13.1 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.3 fouls. They are conceding 34.9% on shots from distance while they are 17th in the NBA in points per game allowed (112.2). The Thunder defense is giving up a FG percentage of 46.5% (537 of 752) and they relinquish 47.7 boards per contest as a squad. They are 15th in the league in allowing assists with 1,013 surrendered this season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Minnesota Timberwolves took a loss by a final score of 113-101 against the Phoenix Suns. The Timberwolves pulled down 34 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards totaling 39 in this game. They turned the ball over 19 times, while earning 8 steals for the game. The Suns were called for 19 fouls in this game which took the Timberwolves to the charity stripe for a total of 18 shots. They were able to knock down 14 of them for a rate of 77.8%. In relation to shooting from downtown, Minnesota buried 13 of their 35 tries (37.1%). When all was said and done, the Timberwolves finished 37 for 79 from the field which had them sitting at 46.8%. The Timberwolves permitted the Suns to bury 43 of 86 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 50.0% in the matchup. They finished shooting 51.9% from downtown by going 14 of 27 and finished the game at 13 out of 17 from the charity stripe (76.5%). In the matter of attacking the glass, Minnesota permitted Phoenix to pull down 40 in total (6 on the offensive side).

Karl-Anthony Towns pitched in for the Timberwolves in this game. He knocked down 9 of 12 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 75.0%, and accounted for 9 rebounds. Towns tallied 24 points in his 35:30 minutes on the court and had 1 assist for this contest. Someone else who was a determining factor for Minnesota was Ricky Rubio. He ended up finishing with 10 dimes in 33:05 minutes played, and he converted 7 of 10 from the floor. Rubio ended the game having shot 70.0% from the field while contributing 21 points and 5 total rebounds.

Minnesota has a record of 10-32 on the year. Minnesota has accounted for 4,600 pts this season (109.5 per game) and they pull down 43.1 rebounds per contest. The Timberwolves are responsible for committing 21.6 fouls per game and they go 76.1% from the free throw line. In terms of offensive execution, the Timberwolves are shooting 44.4% from the floor, which ranks 27th in basketball. They are assisting teammates 25.1 times per game (14th in the league) and they cough up possession 14.6 times per contest. The Timberwolves on the defensive side of the court are 28th in basketball in PPG allowed with 117.2. They are able to force 15.2 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 48.0% from the floor (29th in the NBA). The Minnesota defense gives up 37.9% on 3-point shots (497 of 1,312) and opponents are connecting on 79.1% of their free throw shots. They give up 26.2 assists and 46.8 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 26th and 25th in the league.

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

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

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