New Orleans Pelicans vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, 3/21/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: New Orleans Pelicans vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Date: Friday, March 21, 2025

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

The Minnesota Timberwolves (40-31) will take on the New Orleans Pelicans (19-51) at Target Center on Friday.

The Pelicans faced off with the Timberwolves and took home the win by a score of 119-115 in their last game. Regarding fouls, the Pelicans finished with 25 while the Timberwolves finished the game with 19 fouls. They also converted 16 out of their 39 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Minnesota finished the game at 80.6% at the charity stripe by converting 29 of their 36 tries. In addition, Minnesota collected 40 rebounds (9 offensive, 31 defensive) and earned 6 rejections. Minnesota totaled 21 dimes and had 7 steals in this game. Pertaining to defending, New Orleans allowed the other team to shoot 45.5% from the field on 35 of 77 shooting. They also distributed 28 assists for this game while forcing 14 turnovers and earning 5 steals. With respect to rebounding, they earned 46 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Pelicans knocked down 12 of their 22 shots for a rate of 54.5%. New Orleans ended the contest having earned a 52.8% field goal percentage (47 out of 89) and converted 13 of their 29 shots from downtown.

Zion Williamson is someone who was a factor in this game. He accounted for 29 points on 12 of 16 shooting. He played for 30 minutes and also totaled 5 boards. Williamson ended up going 75.0% from the floor and also totaled 8 assists.

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New Orleans comes into this one with a win-loss record of 19-51 for the year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 14.3 times per contest and as a team they commit 18.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, New Orleans is pulling in 43.5 boards per game and has accumulated 1,790 assists so far this season, which ranks 18th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Pelicans are shooting 34.7% on three-point attempts (846 of 2,435) and 75.7% from the free throw line. They are averaging 110.5 pts per game (24th in basketball) while connecting on 45.1% from the field.

On defense, the Pelicans are forcing their opponents into 14.4 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.0 fouls. They are 28th in basketball in allowing assists with 2,024 surrendered on the campaign. The Pelicans are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 48.4% (3,073 of 6,352) and they relinquish 46.2 boards per game as a basketball team. They are relinquishing 36.6% on three-point shots while they are 26th in basketball in PPG allowed (119.0).

When they last stepped on the court, the Timberwolves went home defeated by a final of 119-115 against the Pelicans. The Timberwolves earned 31 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 40 for the game. They coughed up the ball 14 times, while recording 7 steals in this game. The Pelicans were called for 25 personal fouls for the game which took the Timberwolves to the charity stripe for a total of 36 attempts. They were able to knock down 29 of them for a rate of 80.6%. In regard to shooting from distance, Minnesota made 16 out of their 39 tries (41.0%). At the conclusion of this game, the Timberwolves walked away from this one shooting 35 out of 77 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.5%. The Timberwolves allowed the Pelicans to make 47 of 89 attempts from the field which left them shooting 52.8% for this game. They went 44.8% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 13 of 29 and ended up going 12 of 22 at the free throw line (54.5%). Concerning rebounds, Minnesota allowed New Orleans to snag 46 in total (11 on the offensive side).

Anthony Edwards was important for the Timberwolves in this matchup. He buried 5 out of 19 for this game for a field goal percentage of 26.3%, and had 6 rebounds. Edwards scored 29 points in his 38 mins on the court and had 4 assists for this contest.

Minnesota has a win-loss mark of 40-31 this year. As an offense, the Timberwolves are connecting on 46.3% from the field, which ranks them 17th in the league. Minnesota has accounted for 8,052 points on the campaign (113.4 per game) and they collect 44.0 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 25.8 times per contest (17th in the league) and they are losing possession via turnover 14.5 times per contest. The Timberwolves are committing 18.1 fouls every game and they shoot 79.2% from the charity stripe.

The Minnesota defense surrenders 35.0% from downtown (893 of 2,548) and opponents are knocking down 77.1% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 24.5 assists and 43.5 rebounds per game, which ranks 5th and 12th in the NBA. The Timberwolves on the defensive side of the court are 6th in the NBA in PPG given up with 109.4. They are forcing 14.8 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.9% from the floor (9th in basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take New Orleans

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