LeBron James and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers failed to hand Tyronn Lue a win in his first game as head coach on Saturday night versus the Bulls. The Cavaliers will try to do so again when they play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are coming off a rare win against Memphis. Can James and co. take advantage of this favorable matchup? Or will the young Timberwolves surprise them?
[sc:NBA250 ]Read on further for a closer look at this intriguing matchup. If you’re yearning for more NBA action, check out our other previews: Spurs at Warriors and Heat at Bulls.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Betting Preview
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
When: Monday, January 25, 2016, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Minnesota Timberwolves (+13.5) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (-13.5); total: 202.0 – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: NBATV
Betting on the Minnesota Timberwolves (14-31)
[sc:NBA240banner ]There’s no doubt that the future in Minnesota is very bright especially with the likes of Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns constantly sharpening their talents and enhancing their experience in each game. But for now, the Timberwolves will need to be a little more patient with their youngsters and continue focusing on development this year.
Speaking of development, the world saw a glimpse of it during their 106-101 triumph over the visiting Grizzlies on Saturday night. The Timberwolves had the lead throughout the most part and ultimately managed to come away victorious with key plays and stops down the stretch. Starring in that game was Ricky Rubio, who flirted with a triple-double by putting up 15 points, six rebounds and 12 assists.
Shabazz Muhammad, meanwhile, had his imprints all over that game as well with a season-high 25 points (8-of-15 shooting) off the bench. He and Rubio will try to stay hot and hopefully notch a win again when they go on the road for a date with the reigning Eastern Conference champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Besides the mentioned pair, the Timberwolves will definitely be leaning on Wiggins and Towns to deliver some scoring punch in this bout as well. The two are the team’s top two offensive threats this season with 20.8 PPG and 15.8 PPG respectively.
In particular, Wiggins is bound to go on a tear later as he’s fared extremely well against his former team. The No. 1 overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft is posting 31.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG and 2.0 APG while shooting 58.3% from the field and 64.3% beyond the arc in three career games opposite Cleveland.
Over on defense, the onus is on everyone to provide a collective effort in holding off the Big Three of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love from racking up the points. But that might just prove to be too much of a challenge for a Timberwolves’ squad that’s yielding almost a hundred points per game this season.
Minnesota is 1-9 SU and 3-7 ATS in its last 10 road games.
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Betting on the Cleveland Cavaliers (30-12)
The Cleveland Cavaliers will be looking to hand their newly-assigned head coach in Tyronn Lue his first win. They fell short in doing so on Saturday night against the Bulls, who beat them, 96-83. The combined efforts of Pau Gasol (25 points) and Jimmy Butler (20) proved to be too much to overcome. But what’s done is done and the Cavaliers ought to prepare for their next game opposite the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.
LeBron James should feel pretty happy and psyched about this favorable matchup. He’s torched the Timberwolves all throughout his decorated career, posting 26.9 PPG, 8.0 RPG and 7.1 APG across 24 games. Furthermore, in James’ first encounter with Minnesota this season, he contributed 13 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to help the Cavaliers pick up the lopsided 125-99.
Also, Expect Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving to provide solid numbers against the Timberwolves, who have allowed more than a hundred points in each of their last three games. Both stars have played relatively well at home this season, combining for 30.8 PPG.
As long as the Cavaliers’ Big Three gets it going, it’s hard to see a young and inexperienced squad like the Timberwolves stop them from imposing their will. This game could quickly go in favor of the Cavaliers especially if the Timberwolves remain careless (15.3 turnovers per game) and if they struggle to find a rhythm on offense as well.
Cleveland is 7-3 SU and 5-5 ATS in its previous 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Cleveland (-13.5) wins but fail to cover the spread. Create a betting account now and create a winning NBA parlay.
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