Game Time: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, December 10th, 2021 

Venue:  Target Center, Minneapolis, 

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass 

Opening NBA Odds at USA Sportsbooks

DraftKings:  Spread:  NL

BetMGM:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread:  NL

Opening Line:  Cavs -5.5, O/U 218

Cavaliers: 14-12, 7th place Eastern Conference

Timberwolves: 11-14, 9th place Western Conference

The draft is a wonderful thing for NBA franchises.  If you get the draft right your cellar-dwelling team can be magically transformed.  Of course it takes a few drafts to really do the magic unless you landed Tim Duncan or LeBron James.  Now the Cavaliers aren’t going to be going to the Eastern Conference Finals this season… but they are vastly improved.  Largely because they did well over the last 3 drafts, specifically this last draft when they took Evan Mobley out of USC.  So what they are 1-2 over their last 3 games with a loss to Giannis Antetokounmpo and his back-up dancers the Milwaukee Bucks, a loss to Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz, because they did beat a very good Chicago Bulls team on Wednesday night 115-92.  And before going 1-2 over their last 3 they had a four-game winning streak going.  The Cavaliers are a team with a winning record which is something we can rarely say about them in any season they have not had LeBron James going back 30 years.  They could be building something nice here… they just need another draft to put it all together.

The Timberwolves have been in all those drafts as well.  The Timberwolves landed a young star in the 2020 NBA draft in Anthony Edwards.  The Wolves have been every bit as bad if not worse than the Cavaliers in recent years and they still seem to be circling the NBA drain.  The problem in Minnesota is always about fit… a bad fit on the court, a bad fit of personalities, a bad fit of coach to team, a bad fit of great player Jimmy Butler surrounded by guys rookies putting in half effort until he begs out of town.  Right now the question in Minny would have to be:  Does Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell fit well with Anthony Edwards.  In November the Wolves went on a mini-winning streak and as they did Anthony Edwards took over the job of leading scorer from KAT… Now Kat is back at full strength and has retaken the title, but the Wolves are losing again.  If you consider all the losses over all the years KAT has been the Wolves' best player… would it kill anyone to trade KAT?... Maybe KAT and D’Angelo go out to Boston or OKC for role players and picks?  Maybe Minnesota builds the team around Anthony Edwards?… What’s the worst that could happen?... They wind up in the lottery again?... Guess what you are already there.

Jim Feist has isolated one game in the NBA Western Conference tonight where one team holds the edge and key to cover this matchup. Join a Vegas betting veteran with nearly five decades of winning experience and WIN with JIM tonight on his NBA Western Conference Game of the Week. Get Jim Feist’s picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

The Cavs are 14-12 on the season, but 19-7 ATS.  They have covered a few spreads.  They have logged 10 Overs and 16 Unders.  They are playing really well on the road for a young team… They are 8-5 in road games.

The Timberwolves are 11-14 on the season and 11-14 ATS.  They are usually the underdog so every win is essentially also a cover ATS.  They have notched 11 Overs and 14 Unders.  They are slightly below .500 on the home court with a 7-8 record in home games. Minnesota lost their last four-games against the Utah Jazz, the Atlanta Hawks, The Brooklyn Nets, and the Washington Wizards… Yet they are still 5-5 over their last ten games.  They are capable of putting wins together in a row, but they always follow that up by putting losses together in a row.

The Cavs on offense are 23rd in the NBA in PTS with 105 per game, 15th in rebounds with 45 per game, 22nd in AST/TO ratio with a 1.5.  They are shooting slightly above league average with 15th in FG%, 13th in 3PT%, and 10th in FT%.   What has really gotten them above .500 is they are solid on the defensive end.  2nd in defending points by only allowing 102 per game, 8th in defending shots from behind the arc only giving up 33.5%

The Wolves are 15th in PTS with 107.8, 10th in rebounds with 45.6, and 26th in AST/TO ratio with 1.5.  They are simply not good shooters:  27th in FG%, 23rd in 3PT%, 18th in FT%.  Also they are 21st in defending points by allowing a generous 108.8 points per game.

 

Our prediction for Friday, December 10th is….  Cavaliers 112 - Timberwolves 101

With a full bill of health except for Colin Sexton who will miss the season… The Cavs should keep on winning against the Wolves. Follow a link on facebook or twitter to any basketball podcast and vow not to turn it off until you hear enthusiasm for the Timberwolves… you’ll end up listening all day. As matchups go… this isn’t the most exciting unless you put some money on it. 

So put that money on Cleveland and the Under.

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Minny is 3-1 ATS versus Cleveland over the last 3 seasons.

3 of 4 games in this series have gone Under the total.

Cleveland is 15-9 against Minnesota at Minnesota since 1996.

Cavs:  PG Colin Sexton (knee) Out for season.

Wolves: SG Jaylen Norwell (back) Quest, PG D’Angelo Russell (ankle) Quest

Cavaliers: PG Darius Garland, SG Isaac Okoro, PF Evan Mobley, SF Lauri Markkanen, C Jarrett Allen

Timberwolves: PG Patrick Beverley, SG Anthony Edwards, SF Jarred Vanderbilt, PF Taureen Prince, C Karl-Anthony Towns

Cavaliers

Points: Darius Garland 19.5

Assists: Darius Garland 7.2

Rebounds: Jarrett Allen 11.3

Steals: Darius Garland 1.2

Blocks: Evan Mobley 2.0

Timberwolves

Points: Karl-Anthony Towns 24.2

Assists: D’Angelo Russell 6.4

Rebounds: Karl-Anthony Towns 9.3

Steals: Anthony Edwards 1.6

Blocks: Karl-Anthony Towns 1.0

Cavs:  J.B. Bickerstaff.  Coach Bickerstaff has a great opportunity in Cleveland.  He is following unheralded John Beilein in the job and the drafting of Evan Mobley and adding of Jarrett Allen and Lauri Markkanen seem to have done surgery on the whole franchise… sure they have to fully go through rehab, but it seems they have clear starters and a quality bench now.  Go get em’ Coach!

Timberwolves: Chris Finch. Coach Finch is a rookie NBA head coach and he will have a rough path to glory.  Not that it can’t happen but no one sees a trip to the NBA Finals unless the Timberwolves get real about what they have and who they are.

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