Two NBA title contenders meet in the first game of an NBA TV doubleheader on Friday when the Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Minnesota Timberwolves, although each will be without an All-Star in Donovan Mitchell and Karl-Anthony Towns.
MyBookie Line NBA Wholegame and Expert Analysis Cleveland vs. Minnesota | NBA Week 22
How to Bet Cavaliers at Timberwolves NBA Odds & TV Info
When: Friday, 8 PM ET
Where: Target Center
TV: NBA TV
Stream: NBA.com, NBA TV app
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Timberwolves -2 (total TBA)
Cavaliers vs Timberwolves First Meeting
On March 8, Cleveland was a 113-104 OT winner over visiting Minnesota. Darius Garland scored 34 points, and Jarrett Allen added a career-high 33 and 18 rebounds. Allen made a career-best 15 free throws, including 14 after halftime. He scored 10 points in overtime as the Cavs outscored the Timberwolves 16-7. The Cavs won despite being without starters Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Max Strus. Naz Reid scored a career-high 34 and Anthony Edwards 19 — on just 7-of-27 shooting — for Minnesota, which was without Karl-Anthony Towns. Cleveland leads the all-time series 40-26 and is 19-14 as the road team.
Why Bet on Cleveland Cavaliers?
Cleveland played without leading scorer and All-Star Donovan Mitchell as well as fellow starters Evan Mobley and Max Strus on Wednesday lost 107-104 at home to Miami.
Cavaliers Last 5
vs Heat – L107-104 |
@ Pacers – W108-103 | -tr>
@ Rockets – L117-103 |
@ Pelicans – W116-95 |
vs Suns – L117-111 |
The Heat’s Terry Rozier scored nine points in the final 1:24, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 14.5 seconds on the clock. Rozier converted a 4-point play before sinking a 26 footer that gave Miami a 105-102 lead. After Georges Niang made a layup for the Cavaliers, Rozier followed with two free throws with 2.8 seconds remaining. Darius Garland had a chance to force overtime, but his off-balance, 3-point attempt was off the mark and Cleveland lost its third straight home game.
Jarrett Allen was excellent in the loss with 25 points and 20 rebounds — Allen’s three 20-20 games career puts him third in that category in Cavaliers franchise history. It also gave him his 34rd double-double of the season, which ranks 13th in the NBA. Since the All-Star break, Allen is averaging 18.6 points on 58.8 percent shooting, 11.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. Overall, he is averaging a career-high 16.2 PPG this season and is 1 of 5 players in the NBA averaging 16.0+ PPG, 10.0+ RPG, 2.5+ APG and 1.0+ BPG.
Caris LeVert started with Mitchell out and had 16 points, 12 assists and five rebounds. LeVert now has six double-doubles on the season (tying a career high) and has reached that mark in each of his last three starts. He is averaging 13.7 points, 8.6 assists and 4.8 rebounds this month.
Mitchell will not play Friday, either after undergoing a procedure Tuesday to address a nasal fracture. If there’s a bright side for Mitchell, it’s that the time off to recover from the nasal procedure will also give him more rest for his left knee. Mitchell had missed the Cavaliers’ first seven games of March with a bone bruise in the knee, and still looked to be bothered by the injury in his two appearances for the Cavaliers before missing two games this week with the nose.
Georges Niang has been seeing a lot more minutes with all the injuries and had 18 points in 35 minutes on Wednesday. Niang has now scored at least 10 points in 7 of his last 8 games (14.8 PPG) and is shooting 22-50 (.440 3FG%) from the 3-point line over that stretch. Sam Merrill had 12 points off the bench, including 4-for-9 from deep. Merrill also has made the most 3-pointers off the bench in the NBA since Dec. 8th. He currently ranks 2nd in Cavs team history in three-pointers made per game off the bench for a season (2.4).
As for Friday, the Cavaliers are 9-2 in their last 11 games against Western Conference opponents, including winning 5 of the last 6 games on the road against the West. The Cavaliers are 21-12 (.636) on the road this season, marking the 3rd-best road winning percentage in the NBA this season. With a win, Cleveland would have the most road wins in a season since the 2015-16 season (24-17 on the road).
Bet Cleveland to Win
Daily Line NBA Men
Week 22 Vegas Picks NBA Odds Subject to Change | SPREAD | MONEYLINE | TOTAL |
---|---|---|---|
Timberwolves | -2 | -190 | TBA |
Cavaliers | +2 | +145 | TBA |
NBA First Half Lines | 2nd Half NBA Lines |
Why Bet on Minnesota Timberwolves?
The Timberwolves had a three-game winning streak snapped Tuesday in a 115-112 home loss to Denver, a possible Western Conference Finals preview. With Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) out indefinitely and Rudy Gobert (ribs) sidelined for a third straight game, Naz Reid (head) joined them on the inactive list after getting hurt Tuesday at Utah. For sure Towns won’t play Friday.
Timberwolves Last 5
vs Nuggets – L115-112 |
vs Jazz – W114-104 | -tr>
vs Jazz – W119-100 |
@ Clippers – W118-100 |
vs Lakers – L120-109 |
With all those big guys out, Denver star and MVP favorite Nikola Jokic dominated with 35 points and 16 rebounds. Jokic had 40 pounds and three inches on Kyle Anderson, who with Luka Garza drew the bulk of the work defending the two-time NBA MVP. Anderson committed three fouls in the first three minutes of the game, which meant Garza got extended run off the bench as he covered Jokic for 22 minutes. He finished with 11 points and six rebounds while going 4-for-11 from the field (2-for-8 from three-point range).
Anthony Edwards notched 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the loss despite originally being labeled questionable. It was his fourth straight 30-point game. Edwards had a clean look for a tying three pointer at the buzzer but his shot hit the front of the rim, leaving him scoreless in the fourth quarter after the Nuggets cranked up the double teams to get the ball out of his hands.
“That’s probably on me maybe to try to get the ball in his hands a little bit more,” coach Chris Finch said. “But we had some other decent looks and guys will normally step up and make those things, so that’s what we’ve been preaching.”
The Wolves didn’t start hitting threes until the end of the game, when Mike Conley (13 points) and Jaden McDaniels (career-high 26 points) each hit to pull the Wolves to within one to set up Edwards’ final attempt after two Jamal Murray free throws with 4.2 seconds left. The Wolves shot 34% from three-point range while Denver was 52% as the Nuggets scored 70 in the first half and held on.
Even with Wednesday’s loss, the Timberwolves have been stellar against the top teams in the NBA this season. Minnesota is third (.604) in winning percentage vs. teams that are currently .500 or better. The Wolves rank first (.452) in the NBA in opponents field goal percentage when facing teams that are currently .500 or better. Minnesota is 33-12 against the Western Conference. The Timberwolves’ 33 wins vs. the West are the most in the NBA this season.
The Timberwolves have been stingy on the defensive end this season, only allowing teams to average 51.6 points per game in the second half, while allowing opponents just a .436 shooting percentage from the floor, both are tops in the NBA.
Bet Minnesota to Win
Daily Line NBA Men
Cavaliers vs Timberwolves Expert Prediction
Timberwolves 109, Cavaliers 103
NBA Conferences Winners
Eastern Conference
Boston Celtics -125 |
Milwaukee Bucks +300 |
New York Knicks +1100 |
Cleveland Cavaliers +1200 |
Miami Heat +1200 |
Philadelphia 76ers +1600 |
Indiana Pacers +5000 |
Orlando Magic +8000 |
Atlanta Hawks +40000 |
Chicago Bulls +45000 |
Toronto Raptors +70000 |
Brooklyn Nets +70000 |
Bet on the Eastern Conference |
Western Conference
Denver Nuggets +160 |
LA Clippers +300 |
Oklahoma City Thunder +800 |
Phoenix Suns +1000 |
Minnesota Timberwolves +1200 |
Dallas Mavericks +1500 |
Los Angeles Lakers +2000 |
New Orleans Pelicans +2500 |
Golden State Warriors +2500 |
Sacramento Kings +3500 |
Houston Rockets +60000 |
Utah Jazz +60000 |
Bet on the Western Conference |
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