Minnesota Timberwolves vs Detroit Pistons Prediction, 1/4/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Detroit Pistons

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2025

Location: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

The Detroit Pistons (15-18) will go up against the Minnesota Timberwolves (17-16) at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.

The Timberwolves played the Celtics and took a loss by a score of 118-115 in their last game. When it comes to fouls, the Timberwolves ended up walking away with 18 and the Celtics finished the game with 14 fouls. They also converted 22 out of their 57 attempts from beyond the arc. Boston finished the contest at 66.7% at the free throw line by making 4 of 6 shots. Additionally, Boston grabbed 45 boards (10 offensive, 35 defensive) and earned 1 block. Boston distributed 29 dimes and had 11 steals in this matchup. Pertaining to defense, Minnesota allowed their opponent to shoot 50.0% from the field on 46 out of 92 shooting. They also recorded 25 assists in the matchup while forcing 10 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they earned 35 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Timberwolves converted 20 of 22 attempts for a rate of 90.9%. Minnesota wrapped up the contest with a 50.0% field goal percentage (37 of 74) and buried 21 of their 39 three-point attempts.

Julius Randle is a guy who was a major factor for the contest. Randle finished the game shooting 56.3% from the floor and also earned 7 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 39 mins and totaled 8 rebounds. He had 27 points on 9 out of 16 shooting.

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Minnesota enters this matchup with a record of 17-16 on the campaign. They lose possession via turnover 15.9 times per game and as a team they commit 18.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Minnesota is collecting 43.1 boards per contest and has tallied 824 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 22nd in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. The Timberwolves are hitting 37.7% on 3-point shots (498 of 1,320) and 79.0% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 109.4 points per contest (22nd in the league) while hitting 46.0% from the floor.

Defensively, the Timberwolves are forcing their opponents into 15.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.5 personal fouls. They are surrendering 34.6% on 3-point attempts and they rank 4th in the NBA in PPG allowed (107.7). The Timberwolves defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 45.9% (1,322 of 2,878) and they concede 42.8 boards per game as a group. They are currently ranked 4th in the NBA in giving up assists to their opponents with 804 surrendered so far this year.

When they last played, the Pistons took home the win by a final score of 105-96 against the Magic. In the matter of rebounding, Detroit permitted Orlando to collect 45 in all (14 on the offensive side). They finished shooting 22.9% from downtown by connecting on 8 out of 35 and ended up going 14 out of 20 from the free throw line (70.0%). The Pistons permitted the Magic to bury 37 out of their 91 tries from the field which left them shooting 40.7% for the contest. When the game finished, the Pistons walked away from this one shooting 41 out of 79 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 51.9%. In the matter of three-point shots, Detroit made 12 of their 29 attempts (41.4%). They were able to make 11 of them for a rate of 64.7%. The Magic had 14 fouls in the game which got the Pistons to the free throw line for a total of 17 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 19 times, while earning 10 steals for this contest. The Pistons were able to collect 41 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 47 in the matchup.

Jaden Ivey ended up having an impact for the Pistons for the game. He buried 8 out of 11 for this game giving him a rate of 72.7%, and accumulated 1 rebound. Ivey accumulated 22 points in his 27 minutes on the hardwood and had 4 dimes in this game.

Detroit has a win-loss mark of 15-18 for the campaign. The Pistons commit 20.2 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 76.7% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 25.8 times per contest (17th in the league) and they are losing possession via turnover 16.0 times per contest. Detroit has scored 3,696 pts so far this season (112.0 per contest) and they collect 44.7 boards per game. As an offense, the Pistons are connecting on 46.7% from the field, which is ranked 11th in the NBA.

The Detroit defense gives up 38.0% from downtown (466 of 1,227) and their opponents are connecting on 78.4% of their foul shots. They have given up 25.3 assists and 42.3 boards every game, which is ranked 9th and 5th in basketball. The Pistons defensively are ranked 21st in basketball in points given up per game with 114.6. They are able to force 14.5 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 47.3% from the field (20th in basketball).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Detroit

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