Minnesota Timberwolves vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 12/28/2022 Preview and Pick

Game: Minnesota Timberwolves vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Bally Sports New Orleans

The New Orleans Pelicans will try to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves at Smoothie King Center on Wednesday.

The Timberwolves stepped onto the hardwood against the Heat and took a loss by a score of 113-110 in their last contest. Minnesota finished the game having earned a 54.4% field goal percentage (43 out of 79) and buried 15 of their 34 shots from downtown. From the free throw line, the Timberwolves converted 9 of 14 attempts for a rate of 64.3%. When discussing rebounding, they earned 44 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 31 assists for this game in addition to forcing 9 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In terms of defense, Minnesota allowed 46.1% from the field on 47 out of 102 shooting. Miami doled out 27 assists and had 9 steals in the game. Additionally, Miami pulled down 40 rebounds (13 offensive, 27 defensive) and earned 3 rejections. Miami finished the contest at 75.0% at the free throw line by converting 6 of their 8 tries. They also knocked down 13 of 49 shots from beyond the perimeter. When talking about fouls, the Timberwolves ended up walking away with 14 while the Heat recorded 17 fouls.

Anthony Edwards is someone who had an impact for the contest. Edwards finished the contest at 68.8% from the field and dished out 7 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 40 minutes and totaled 6 rebounds. He was able to score 29 points on 11 out of 16 shooting.

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Minnesota steps onto the court with a record of 16-18 on the campaign. They are averaging 114.6 points per contest (11th in the NBA) on 49.1% from the field. The Timberwolves are connecting on 34.4% on shots from distance (381 of 1,107) and 77.5% from the free throw line. As a unit, Minnesota is snagging 42.6 boards per game and has racked up 885 assists so far this year, which ranks 10th in the NBA in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 16.3 times per contest and as a team they are committing 21.6 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Timberwolves are forcing 15.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.3 fouls. They currently rank 28th in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 893 relinquished for the season. The Timberwolves are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 45.9% (1,405 of 3,058) and they relinquish 44.2 boards per contest as a squad. They are giving up 36.7% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 22nd in the league in opponents PPG (115.6).

When they last stepped on the court, the Pelicans went home victorious with a score of 113-93 against the Pacers. In the matter of cleaning the glass, New Orleans allowed Indiana to collect 36 in all (6 on the offensive side). They wrapped up this game 25.7% from beyond the arc by going 9 out of 35 and ended up going 14 of 20 at the charity stripe (70.0%). The Pelicans permitted the Pacers to convert 35 of 83 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 42.2% for the contest. When the final whistle blew, the Pelicans finished shooting 41 for 90 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.6%. In relation to shooting from 3-point land, New Orleans knocked down 12 of 40 tries (30.0%). They were able to knock down 19 of those for a percentage of 79.2%. The Pacers earned 18 fouls in this game which got the Pelicans to the charity stripe for a total of 24 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 14 times, while recording 10 steals in this matchup. The Pelicans were able to corral 38 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive boards for a total of 54 for the matchup.

Naji Marshall ended up being important for the Pelicans in the game. Marshall scored 22 points in his 29 minutes of playing time and had 4 dimes for the contest. He knocked down 8 out of 14 for this game for a field goal percentage of 57.1%, and had 6 rebounds.

New Orleans has a record of 21-12 so far this year. The Pelicans commit 20.3 fouls per contest and they go 79.1% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 27.1 times per game (4th in the league) and they turn it over 15.3 times per game. New Orleans has scored 3,887 pts for the year (117.8 per contest) and they average 45.5 boards per contest. In terms of offensive execution, the Pelicans are hitting on 48.3% from the field, which is ranked 6th in the league.

The Pelicans on the defensive end are ranked 14th in basketball in points given up per game with 112.4. They have forced 16.1 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.3% from the floor (9th in basketball). The New Orleans defense gives up 33.6% on three-point shots (415 of 1,236) and opponents are converting on 77.8% of their foul shots. They have allowed 25.4 assists and 42.3 boards per game, ranking them 17th and 7th in the league.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Minnesota

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