New Orleans Pelicans vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, 11/8/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: New Orleans Pelicans vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Date: Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: Bally Sports North

Odds/Point Spread: New Orleans (+7)

The New Orleans Pelicans (4-3) are en route to Target Center on Wednesday where they will try to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves (4-2). Minnesota opens this matchup as 7-point favorites. The total has been set at 223.5.

The Pelicans stepped onto the hardwood against the Nuggets and took a loss by a score of 134-116 in their last game. In relation to fouls, the Pelicans finished with 18 and the Nuggets accounted for 16 fouls. They knocked down 15 of their 39 shots from long range. Denver finished the game at 73.9% when shooting free throws by making 17 of 23 tries. Additionally, Denver collected 45 rebounds (11 offensive, 34 defensive) and had 2 rejections. Denver distributed 37 assists and had 6 steals in this game. Pertaining to the defense, New Orleans allowed the other team to shoot 53.7% from the floor on 51 of 95 shooting. They also doled out 24 assists in this game while creating 9 turnovers and having 6 steals. In relation to rebounding, they earned a total of 38 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Pelicans knocked down 13 of 15 attempts for a rate of 86.7%. New Orleans ended the game having earned a 50.0% FG percentage (45 out of 90) and knocked down 13 out of their 30 3-point attempts.

Jordan Hawkins is one guy who was a major contributor for the game. Hawkins finished 52.6% from the floor and totaled 3 assists. He was on the hardwood for 38 minutes played and snagged 7 boards. He finished with 31 points on 10 out of 19 shooting.

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New Orleans will enter this contest with a win-loss mark of 4-3 for the year. They turn it over 13.1 times per contest and as a group they commit 18.9 fouls every game. As a unit, New Orleans is snagging 43.0 boards per contest and has 163 assists on the campaign, which ranks 20th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. The Pelicans are connecting on 33.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (81 of 239) and 73.2% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 109.3 pts per contest (22nd in the NBA) while hitting 45.4% from the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, the Pelicans are forcing 14.4 turnovers per contest and they draw 20.6 personal fouls. They are 20th in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 188 surrendered this year. The Pelicans are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.8% (297 of 649) and they concede 50.6 boards per contest as a squad. They are giving up 30.4% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 18th in basketball in PPG from their opponents (114.3).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Timberwolves walked away with a victory by a final of 114-109 against the Celtics. When talking about team rebounding, Minnesota permitted Boston to pull down 45 in total (11 on the offensive side). They finished 28.2% from distance by going 11 out of 39 and finished the game at 26 of 34 at the charity stripe (76.5%). The Timberwolves permitted the Celtics to make 36 of 92 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 39.1% for the game. When the final whistle blew, the Timberwolves finished 44 out of 85 from the floor which had them sitting at 51.8%. Regarding shooting from distance, Minnesota knocked down 13 of their 37 attempts (35.1%). They were able to convert 13 of the free throws for a percentage of 52.0%. The Celtics were called for 26 fouls in this matchup which got the Timberwolves to the free throw line for a total of 25 shots. They also gave up possession of the ball 23 times, while earning 7 steals for the contest. The Timberwolves were able to snag 39 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards totaling 45 for this game.

Anthony Edwards ended up being a major contributor for the Timberwolves in the matchup. Edwards tallied 38 points in his 38 minutes on the court and tallied 7 dimes in this game. He knocked down 15 of 25 in the game for a field goal rate of 60.0%, and had 9 rebounds.

Minnesota has a record of 4-2 on the season. The Timberwolves are committing 18.7 fouls per contest while shooting 75.0% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 24.2 times per contest (23rd in the NBA) and they lose possession via turnover 15.5 times per game. Minnesota has tallied 660 points on the year (110.0 per contest) and they collect 47.0 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Timberwolves are shooting 47.4% from the field, which ranks 13th in the NBA.

The Timberwolves on the defensive end are ranked 1st in basketball in PPG allowed with 101.2. They are forcing 15.3 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.1% from the field (1st in the league). The Minnesota defense gives up 31.7% from downtown (69 of 218) and their opponents are connecting on 75.2% of their free throw shots. They have given up 23.7 assists and 42.0 total boards per game, ranking them 6th and 8th in basketball.

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

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

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