Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
This Saturday, the (27-16) Cleveland Cavaliers will travel to Minneapolis, MN to take on the (20-22) Minnesota Timberwolves. Tipoff will be at 8:00 PM EST inside the Target Center. This will be the second and final time that these two teams match up this season, as the Timberwolves won their first meeting, 129-124.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering this matchup after defeating the Portland Trail Blazers, 119-113. They were great on the offensive end of the court, as they will have to stay hot in this one if they want to challenge the Timberwolves on the road.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are coming into this one after losing to the Detroit Pistons, 135-118. They were not good on the defensive end of the floor, as they will have to make more stops in this one if they want to challenge the Cavs at home.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are currently in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings, as they are four games back from the first-place Boston Celtics. On offense, they are scoring 111.7 points per game and they have shot 48.1% from the floor. This is the 26th most points scored per contest and the eighth-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Cavs have an adjusted offensive rating of 114.3, which is the 10th-highest rating in the NBA. Donovan Mitchell continues to lead the way on the offensive end of the court, as he is scoring 29.2 points per game on 48.9% shooting from the field. Cleveland has also shown that they have multiple players that can heat up from behind the arc. They are shooting 36.2% from deep, which is the 13th-highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. The Cleveland Cavaliers have also shot 77.9% at the charity stripe, which is the 17th-highest free-throw shooting percentage. They can't miss out on these free looks at the rim and still expect to win these games.
On defense, the Cavaliers have been extremely tough to beat. They are currently surrendering 106.9 points per game and they have forced their opponents to shoot 46.3% from the field. This is the least amount of points surrendered per contest and the seventh-lowest shooting percentage allowed. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Cavaliers have an adjusted defensive rating of 109.4, which is the second-lowest rating in the NBA. Cleveland has also shown that they will contest shots near the rim, but they have struggled to consistently contest shots on the outside. They have allowed their opponents to shoot 36.7% from behind the arc, which is the 27th-lowest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the league. The Cleveland Cavaliers are snatching 42.6 rebounds per game as well. This is the 20th most in the NBA, as they have to secure the ball after missed shots if they want to keep the Timberwolves from scoring second-chance points.
Injury Report: Dylan Windler SG (Ankle) and Dean Wade SF (Shoulder) are out.
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