Boston Celtics vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, 1/2/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Boston Celtics vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Date: Thursday, January 2, 2025

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

Target Center is the location where the Minnesota Timberwolves (17-14) will take on the Boston Celtics (23-9) on Thursday.

The Celtics played the Pacers and took a loss by a score of 123-114 in their last game. Boston ended the contest with a 46.2% field goal percentage (43 of 93) and knocked down 16 of their 54 shots from downtown. At the charity stripe, the Celtics knocked down 12 of their 19 shots for a rate of 63.2%. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 41 with 8 of them being offensive. They also doled out 26 assists for the contest as well as creating 9 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In the matter of defense, Boston allowed the other team to go 52.9% from the floor on 46 of 87 shooting. Indiana recorded 27 assists and had 6 steals for the matchup. Furthermore, Indiana grabbed 50 boards (11 offensive, 39 defensive) and had 6 blocked shots. Indiana went 81.5% from the charity stripe by knocking down 22 of their 27 tries. They also buried 9 of 23 shots from long range. In relation to personal fouls, the Celtics finished with 22 while the Pacers recorded 17 personal fouls.

Jaylen Brown is someone who was a contributor for this contest. Brown finished the game shooting 61.9% from the floor and distributed 6 assists. He saw the court for 36 mins and also pulled down 4 boards. He ended up finishing with 31 points on 13 out of 21 shooting.

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Boston enters this contest with a record of 23-9 on the campaign. They are giving up possession 11.9 times per contest and as a team are committing 16.4 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Boston is grabbing 45.4 boards per contest and has tallied 819 assists for the year, which has them ranked 14th in basketball in terms of passing. The Celtics are shooting 36.4% from downtown (590 of 1,621) and 79.5% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 119.5 points per outing (4th in basketball) while connecting on 45.8% from the field.

On defense, the Celtics are forcing 13.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.2 fouls. They are currently ranked 10th in the league in giving up assists with 791 surrendered on the year. The Celtics are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.8% (1,327 of 2,897) and they surrender 44.3 rebounds per contest as a group. They are relinquishing 35.2% from beyond the arc while they are 8th in the NBA in PPG allowed (110.1).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Timberwolves took home the win by a final score of 112-110 against the Spurs. In regard to team rebounding, Minnesota allowed San Antonio to get 41 in all (8 offensive). They finished the game shooting 28.2% from downtown by connecting on 11 of 39 and finished the game at 23 out of 28 from the free throw line (82.1%). The Timberwolves allowed the Spurs to convert 38 of their 87 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.7% for the matchup. When the final whistle was blown, the Timberwolves went 43 out of 100 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.0%. In terms of three-point shots, Minnesota buried 11 of 44 attempts (25.0%). They were able to bury 15 of the free throws for a percentage of 78.9%. The Spurs committed 18 personal fouls for this game which took the Timberwolves to the charity stripe for a total of 19 tries. They also turned the ball over 10 times, while getting 4 steals for the contest. The Timberwolves snagged 38 defensive rebounds and 18 offensive boards for a total of 56 in this contest.

Donte DiVincenzo ended up being a major contributor for the Timberwolves for this contest. He converted 8 out of 15 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 53.3%, and totaled 7 rebounds. DiVincenzo earned 26 points in his 34 minutes on the court and accumulated 4 assists in the matchup.

Minnesota has a mark of 17-14 so far this season. The Timberwolves are committing 18.2 fouls every game while shooting 78.2% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 25.1 times per contest (20th in the NBA) and they are turning it over 15.6 times per contest. Minnesota has 3,389 pts on the year (109.3 per contest) and they collect 43.1 rebounds per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Timberwolves are hitting on 45.8% from the floor, which is 19th in basketball.

The Timberwolves defensively are ranked 5th in the NBA in points allowed per game with 107.2. They are forcing 15.8 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 45.8% from the floor (9th in basketball). The Minnesota defense concedes 34.4% on 3-pointers (382 of 1,110) and their opponents are knocking down 78.8% of their foul shots. They concede 24.2 assists and 43.5 rebounds every game, ranking them 4th and 10th in the league.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Minnesota

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