Minnesota Timberwolves vs Toronto Raptors Prediction, 3/18/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Toronto Raptors

Date: Saturday, March 18, 2023

Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON

TV: TSN

Odds/Point Spread: Minnesota (+7)

The Toronto Raptors are welcoming the Minnesota Timberwolves at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. Minnesota opens this contest as 7-point dogs. The over/under is 234.

The Timberwolves faced off with the Celtics and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 104-102 in their last contest. Minnesota ended the game having earned a 44.0% FG percentage (37 out of 84) and knocked down 12 of their 36 three-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Timberwolves buried 16 of their 22 attempts for a rate of 72.7%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they earned 46 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 27 assists for the game while forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and getting 3 steals. Regarding the defense, Minnesota allowed the other team to go 40.5% from the field on 34 of 84 shooting. Boston distributed 20 dimes and had 7 steals in the game. On top of that, Boston snagged 44 rebounds (8 offensive, 36 defensive) and added 2 blocked shots. Boston went 80.0% at the free throw line by making 24 of 30 attempts. They buried 12 of their 40 attempts from distance. Concerning personal fouls, the Timberwolves ended up walking away with 23 and the Celtics totaled 22 personal fouls.

Anthony Edwards is a guy who was a major factor in the matchup. Edwards finished the game at 50.0% from the floor and earned 7 assists. He played 38 mins and grabbed 10 boards. He accounted for 28 points on 10 of 20 shooting.

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Minnesota will enter this contest with a record of 35-35 this season. They average 115.5 pts per game (12th in basketball) while connecting on 49.1% from the field. The Timberwolves are shooting 35.8% on 3-point shots (842 of 2,349) and 76.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, Minnesota is pulling down 41.5 rebounds per game and has accounted for 1,800 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 8th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. They are giving up possession 15.5 times per contest and as a basketball team they are committing 21.6 fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Timberwolves are able to force 15.8 turnovers per game while drawing 20.0 personal fouls. They are giving up 37.0% on 3-point shots while they are 18th in basketball in opponents PPG (115.6). The Timberwolves defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 46.8% (2,906 of 6,203) and they surrender 44.8 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are ranked 14th in the league in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,757 surrendered so far this season.

In their last game, the Raptors got the victory with a final of 128-111 against the Thunder. The Raptors were able to snag 40 defensive rebounds and 19 offensive boards totaling 59 for this game. They also turned the ball over 10 times, while earning 10 steals in this game. The Thunder committed 17 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Raptors to the charity stripe for 28 shots. They were able to knock down 20 of the free throw tries for a rate of 71.4%. Pertaining to shooting from 3-point land, Toronto made 14 out of 32 attempts (43.8%). When the game finished, the Raptors finished the game shooting 47 out of 97 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.5%. The Raptors allowed the Thunder to knock down 40 of their 94 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 42.6% in this contest. They finished 41.9% from distance by going 13 out of 31 and ended up shooting 18 out of 20 at the free throw line (90.0%). When discussing how they attacked the glass, Toronto allowed Oklahoma City to grab 39 in all (11 on the offensive glass).

Pascal Siakam pitched in for the Raptors for the game. Siakam had 25 points in his 34 minutes on the hardwood and had 8 assists for the contest. He buried 9 of 19 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 47.4%, and accounted for 14 rebounds.

Toronto has a win-loss record of 34-36 this year. As an offensive team, the Raptors are connecting on 45.6% from the field, which ranks 27th in the NBA. Toronto has earned 7,895 points for the season (112.8 per game) and they pull in 42.9 rebounds per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 23.6 times per game (23rd in the NBA) and they turn it over 11.9 times per game. The Raptors are responsible for committing 20.2 fouls per contest while shooting 78.2% from the free throw line.

The Raptors on defense are ranked 6th in the league in points given up per game with 112.1. They are able to force 16.6 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 49.2% from the floor (28th in basketball). The Toronto defense allows 37.7% on shots from 3-point land (860 of 2,284) and opponents are converting on 79.8% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 26.1 dimes and 42.3 rebounds per game, which ranks 25th and 10th in the league.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Minnesota (+7)

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