Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, 1/4/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Date: Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: Bally Sports North

The Minnesota Timberwolves are hosting the Portland Trail Blazers at Target Center on Wednesday.

The Trail Blazers stepped onto the hardwood against the Pistons and went home with a win by a final score of 135-106 in their last contest. Portland finished the contest having earned a 57.1% field goal percentage (48 of 84) and converted 14 out of their 31 shots from beyond the arc. From the charity stripe, the Trail Blazers converted 25 of 35 attempts for a rate of 71.4%. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 44 with 6 of them being offensive. They also distributed 29 assists in this game while creating 21 turnovers and earning 16 steals. In terms of defense, Portland allowed the other team to go 41.5% from the field on 34 of 82 shooting. Detroit dished out 16 dimes and had 8 steals in the game. In addition, Detroit pulled down 45 rebounds (9 offensive, 36 defensive) and got 6 rejections. Detroit shot 78.0% at the charity stripe by making 32 of 41 attempts. They converted 6 of their 18 attempts from downtown. In regard to fouls, the Trail Blazers ended up walking away with 27 while the Pistons totaled 27 fouls.

Jerami Grant is a guy who came through in this game. Grant ended up shooting 70.6% from the field but didn't record an assist. He saw the court for 28 minutes and also snagged 2 rebounds. He finished with 36 points on 12 out of 17 shooting.

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Portland comes into this matchup with a mark of 19-17 for the campaign. They currently have an average of 112.9 points per game (17th in the league) while hitting 47.9% from the floor. The Trail Blazers are connecting on 38.4% on shots from downtown (463 of 1,206) and 77.2% from the free throw line. As a unit, Portland is pulling down 43.3 rebounds per game and has accounted for 877 dimes this year, which is 24th in the league in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 15.4 times per game and as a team they are committing 20.4 fouls every game.

On defense, the Trail Blazers are forcing 13.9 turnovers per game and they draw 21.4 personal fouls. They are giving up 35.9% on three-point shots and they are ranked 12th in the NBA in PPG from their opponents (112.0). The Trail Blazers defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 47.1% (1,481 of 3,142) and they surrender 41.7 boards per game as a squad. They currently rank 11th in the league in giving up assists with 913 relinquished for the campaign.

In their last game, the Timberwolves went home victorious with a score of 124-111 when they faced the Nuggets. In the matter of rebounding, Minnesota permitted Denver to snag 45 in all (18 offensive). They shot 37.9% from beyond the perimeter by going 11 out of 29 and ended up shooting 16 out of 20 at the charity stripe (80.0%). The Timberwolves permitted the Nuggets to knock down 42 of 91 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 46.2% in this contest. When all was said and done, the Timberwolves shot 45 out of 87 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 51.7%. Regarding shots from distance, Minnesota made 13 of their 36 tries (36.1%). They were able to knock down 21 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 77.8%. The Nuggets were called for 21 fouls in the game which got the Timberwolves to the charity stripe for 27 shots. They also coughed it up 11 times, while earning 7 steals in the game. The Timberwolves pulled down 30 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 41 for this contest.

Anthony Edwards was important for the Timberwolves for the contest. He converted 10 out of 24 in the game giving him a rate of 41.7%, and had 10 rebounds. Edwards accumulated 29 points in his 36 minutes of playing time and had 5 assists for the game.

Minnesota has a record of 17-21 for the campaign. The Timberwolves are responsible for committing 21.9 fouls per contest and they hit 77.6% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 25.4 times per game (11th in basketball) and they turn the ball over 15.8 times per game. Minnesota has accounted for 4,357 points on the season (114.7 per game) and they grab 42.1 rebounds per game. As an offensive team, the Timberwolves are shooting 48.9% from the floor, which ranks 3rd in the NBA.

The Minnesota defense gives up 36.9% on 3-point shots (529 of 1,435) and opponents are converting on 75.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 26.0 dimes and 45.1 rebounds on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 25th and 25th in the league. The Timberwolves on the defensive end are ranked 20th in the NBA in points given up per game with 115.8. They are forcing their opponents into 15.6 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 46.1% from the field (7th in basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Portland

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