Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, 1/12/2024 Preview and Pick
Game: Portland Trail Blazers vs Minnesota Timberwolves
Date: Friday, January 12, 2024
Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN
TV: Bally Sports North
The Minnesota Timberwolves (26-11) will compete against the Portland Trail Blazers (10-26) at Target Center on Friday.
The Trail Blazers played the Knicks and went home with a loss by a final score of 112-84 in their last game. Concerning personal fouls, the Trail Blazers ended up with 17 while the Knicks finished the game with 16 personal fouls. They knocked down 18 out of their 48 tries from downtown. New York ended up going 87.0% when shooting free throws by making 20 of their 23 shots. On top of that, New York pulled down 5 boards (15 offensive, -10 defensive) and had 7 blocked shots. New York dished out 26 assists and had 11 steals for the game. In regard to defense, Portland allowed 41.6% from the floor on 37 of 89 shooting. They also dished out 19 dimes in this matchup while forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and having 8 steals. Concerning grabbing boards, they earned 43 with 12 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Trail Blazers made 12 of 18 tries for a rate of 66.7%. Portland wrapped up the contest with a 38.4% field goal percentage (33 of 86) and knocked down 6 of their 29 shots from downtown.
Jerami Grant is a guy who was important for the matchup. He ended up with 21 points on 8 of 16 shooting. He played 28 minutes played and also snagged 2 rebounds. Grant finished the game shooting 50.0% from the field but wasn't able to get a dime.
Portland will play this contest with a record of 10-26 this year. They turn the ball over 15.3 times per contest and as a team are committing 20.6 fouls per contest. As a unit, Portland is pulling in 41.7 boards per contest and has accounted for 810 dimes this year, which ranks 30th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. The Trail Blazers are connecting on 35.5% on three-point attempts (444 of 1,249) and 78.9% from the free throw line. They are averaging 108.3 pts per game (29th in the league) while going 43.6% from the field.
On the defensive end, the Trail Blazers are forcing their opponents into 15.5 turnovers per game while drawing 18.8 fouls. They currently rank 15th in basketball in allowing assists with 975 surrendered this season. The Trail Blazers are giving up a FG percentage of 49.2% (1,551 of 3,155) and they surrender 45.2 rebounds per game as a team. They are relinquishing 33.9% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 17th in the league in PPG allowed (116.2).
When they last stepped on the court, the Timberwolves walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 127-120 when they faced the Celtics. When discussing how they cleaned up the glass, Minnesota permitted Boston to collect 46 overall (7 on the offensive glass). They finished 40.4% from distance via 19 of 47 and finished the game at 30 out of 31 at the charity stripe (96.8%). The Timberwolves permitted the Celtics to bury 39 out of 90 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 43.3% for this game. When the game finished, the Timberwolves shot 44 for 95 from the field which gave them a percentage of 46.3%. In regard to shots from beyond the perimeter, Minnesota made 14 out of 34 tries (41.2%). They were able to make 18 of them for a percentage of 90.0%. The Celtics were called for 19 fouls for the matchup which got the Timberwolves to the charity stripe for a total of 20 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 9 times, while recording 4 steals in this game. The Timberwolves snagged 39 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards totaling 47 for this game.
Anthony Edwards ended up having an impact for the Timberwolves in this game. He made 11 out of 25 in this contest for a field goal rate of 44.0%, and tallied 6 rebounds. Edwards tallied 29 points in his 46 mins on the court and had 3 dimes for the matchup.
Minnesota has a mark of 26-11 this year. As an offensive team, the Timberwolves are shooting 48.5% from the field, which is ranked 8th in the NBA. Minnesota has earned 4,186 pts so far this year (113.1 per contest) and they snag 44.2 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 25.8 times per game (20th in the NBA) and they are losing possession via turnover 15.3 times per contest. The Timberwolves commit 19.6 fouls every game while shooting 79.4% from the free throw line.
The Minnesota defense allows 34.6% from downtown (425 of 1,230) and their opponents are making 80.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 24.1 dimes and 41.2 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 3rd and 3rd in basketball. The Timberwolves on defense are ranked 1st in the NBA in points allowed per game with 107.8. They are able to force 13.9 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.4% from the field (1st in the league).
Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?
Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Portland
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