Cleveland Cavaliers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, 1/18/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Date: Saturday, January 18, 2025

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

The Cleveland Cavaliers (34-5) are en route to Target Center on Saturday where they will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves (21-19).

The Cavaliers took the court against the Pacers and walked away with a win by a score of 127-117 in their last game. In the matter of fouls, the Cavaliers walked away with 18 and the Pacers totaled 18 fouls. They converted 12 out of their 28 tries from 3-point land. Indiana finished the contest at 77.3% at the charity stripe by knocking down 17 of their 22 tries. Additionally, Indiana had 37 rebounds (9 offensive, 28 defensive) and got 6 blocks. Indiana distributed 30 assists and had 10 steals for this contest. When talking about defending, Cleveland allowed their opponent to shoot 48.4% from the floor on 44 out of 91 shooting. They also doled out 25 assists in this game as well as forcing 14 turnovers and getting 8 steals. In terms of pulling down rebounds, they collected 49 with 14 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Cavaliers buried 26 of their 31 attempts for a rate of 83.9%. Cleveland ended the game having earned a 48.3% field goal percentage (43 of 89) and knocked down 15 out of their 44 shots from 3-point land.

Donovan Mitchell is a player who played a role for this game. Mitchell went 52.2% from the field and totaled 3 assists. He was on the hardwood for 31 mins and totaled 9 boards. He totaled 35 points on 12 of 23 shooting.

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Cleveland will play this game with a win-loss mark of 34-5 so far this year. They average 122.3 points per game (2nd in basketball) on 50.2% from the floor. The Cavaliers are shooting 39.9% on shots from distance (630 of 1,578) and 78.0% from the free throw line. As a team, Cleveland is collecting 43.8 boards per contest and is sitting with 1,136 dimes this season, which ranks 9th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 13.1 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 18.2 fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Cavaliers are able to force 15.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.8 personal fouls. They are 10th in basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,010 surrendered so far this season. The Cavaliers defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 45.7% (1,597 of 3,495) and they relinquish 43.8 rebounds per game as a team. They give up 36.5% from beyond the arc and they are 12th in basketball in points per game from their opponents (111.4).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Timberwolves walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 116-115 when they played the Warriors. Concerning rebounding, Minnesota permitted Golden State to collect 45 in total (14 on the offensive glass). They finished 50.0% from beyond the perimeter by going 18 out of 36 and finished the game at 18 of 21 at the free throw line (85.7%). The Timberwolves permitted the Warriors to make 40 out of 82 tries from the field which had them at 48.8% in this contest. Overall, the Timberwolves went 38 out of 86 from the field which had them shooting 44.2%. In regard to 3-pointers, Minnesota converted 17 of 37 tries (45.9%). They were able to knock down 22 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 75.9%. The Warriors were called for 26 fouls for this game which took the Timberwolves to the charity stripe for a total of 29 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 9 times, while earning 4 steals in the matchup. The Timberwolves corralled 25 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive boards totaling 41 in this game.

Donte DiVincenzo was important for the Timberwolves in this contest. DiVincenzo accumulated 28 points in his 39 minutes on the hardwood and accumulated 9 assists in the matchup. He buried 9 of 19 for the game for a field goal rate of 47.4%, and earned 6 rebounds.

Minnesota has a win-loss record of 21-19 for the year. The Timberwolves commit 18.0 personal fouls every game and they shoot 78.0% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 24.8 times per game (23rd in basketball) and they turn the ball over 15.8 times per contest. Minnesota has totaled 4,390 pts this year (109.8 per game) and they collect 43.7 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Timberwolves are shooting 45.9% from the field, which is ranked 17th in the NBA.

The Timberwolves on defense are ranked 5th in basketball in points per game surrendered with 107.9. They are forcing their opponents into 15.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 45.4% from the field (6th in the NBA). The Minnesota defense allows 34.9% on 3-pointers (514 of 1,474) and their opponents are knocking down 77.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 24.4 assists and 43.2 rebounds per game, which ranks 5th and 10th in the league.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Cleveland

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