Minnesota Timberwolves vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 12/26/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: Bally Sports Oklahoma

Paycom Center is the location where the Oklahoma City Thunder (18-8) will go up against the Minnesota Timberwolves (21-6) on Tuesday.

The Timberwolves took the court against the Lakers and went home with a win by a final score of 118-111 in their last contest. Minnesota finished the game having earned a 48.3% FG percentage (42 of 87) and knocked down 14 out of their 36 3-pointers. At the charity stripe, the Timberwolves converted 20 of their 25 tries for a percentage of 80.0%. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they collected 40 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 32 assists in this game in addition to forcing the other team into 17 turnovers and earning 13 steals. With respect to defending, Minnesota allowed 49.4% from the field on 41 out of 83 shooting. Los Angeles distributed 21 assists and had 6 steals for the matchup. Furthermore, Los Angeles grabbed 38 rebounds (7 offensive, 31 defensive) and got 7 rejections. Los Angeles finished the game shooting 79.2% at the free throw line by knocking down 19 of 24 attempts. They also made 10 out of their 24 attempts from 3-point range. With respect to personal fouls, the Timberwolves ended up with 19 and the Lakers accounted for 18 personal fouls.

Anthony Edwards is one player who was a major contributor for the contest. He ended up with 27 points on 9 of 19 shooting. He was on the court for 38 minutes and grabbed 7 rebounds. Edwards finished the contest at 47.4% from the floor and also dished out 5 assists.

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Minnesota enters this game with a mark of 21-6 this year. They lose possession via turnover 15.1 times per game and as a group they are committing 19.4 fouls per contest. As a team, Minnesota is snagging 45.0 rebounds per game and is sitting with 702 assists for the season, which ranks 19th in basketball in terms of passing. The Timberwolves are shooting 37.9% on three-point attempts (324 of 854) and 79.5% from the free throw line. They average 113.7 points per outing (17th in the league) while hitting 48.4% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Timberwolves are forcing 14.3 turnovers every game and they draw 20.5 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 4th in the league in allowing assists to their opponents with 651 relinquished this season. The Timberwolves defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 44.1% (1,065 of 2,413) and they relinquish 41.2 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They are relinquishing 33.5% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 1st in the league in opponents points per game (106.9).

The last time they took the court, the Thunder got the victory with a final of 134-115 against the Clippers. The Thunder were able to pull down 32 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 38 in this contest. They coughed up the ball 11 times, while getting 9 steals in the game. The Clippers were called for 18 personal fouls in the game which got the Thunder to the charity stripe for a total of 18 attempts. They were able to knock down 16 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 88.9%. Pertaining to shots from distance, Oklahoma City buried 16 of their 34 tries (47.1%). When the final whistle blew, the Thunder shot 51 for 87 from the floor which had them shooting 58.6%. The Thunder allowed the Clippers to convert 44 out of 93 tries from the floor which had them shooting 47.3% in this matchup. They went 39.5% from distance by hitting 17 of 43 and ended up shooting 10 out of 12 at the free throw line (83.3%). With respect to cleaning the glass, Oklahoma City allowed Los Angeles to snag 40 in all (12 offensive).

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ended up having an impact for the Thunder for the matchup. Gilgeous-Alexander earned 31 points in his 32 minutes on the hardwood and earned 4 assists for this contest. He converted 11 of 25 in the matchup for a rate of 44.0%, and had 8 rebounds.

Oklahoma City has a record of 18-8 this season. As an offensive unit, the Thunder are shooting 49.2% from the field, which ranks them 3rd in the NBA. Oklahoma City has accounted for 3,139 pts on the year (120.7 per contest) and they collect 41.4 rebounds per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 25.8 times per contest (16th in the NBA) and they are turning it over 12.9 times per contest. The Thunder commit 19.9 personal fouls per game and they hit 85.7% from the charity stripe.

The Thunder defensively are ranked 13th in the NBA in points per game surrendered with 113.0. They are forcing their opponents into 16.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 44.1% from the floor (1st in the NBA). The Oklahoma City defense allows 35.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter (363 of 1,018) and their opposition makes 79.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquish 26.7 assists and 46.5 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 19th and 29th in the league.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

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