Even the best teams stumble now and then, but it looks like the Cleveland Cavaliers have gotten back on track thanks to back-to-back wins against Brooklyn and Oklahoma City. Even having lost six of eight prior to that, the Cavs still maintain the best record in the Eastern Conference and third best in the nation as they get set to host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday in what will be the team’s only home game in a six game stretch.
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Odds Analysis
The Cavs as a whole went ice cold over the last couple weeks before a couple wins this past weekend. In total, Cleveland is just 4-6 in their last 10 games and 3-7 ATS in that same period.
Cleveland is now 19-25-2 ATS on the seasons, though they’re at least .500 ATS at home at 12-12-2.
LeBron James’ numbers have been rather consistent during the team’s rough patch, but Kevin Love has been hindered by a back injury.
On the other side of the court, the Timberwolves are one of just six teams in the NBA more than 10-games under-.500. That said, this is a team that’s been playing much better lately, winning seven of its last 10 games and covering the spread in 10 of its last 17. Of course, they’ve covered just once in their last four games and are 2-4 ATS in their last six road games.
Player to Watch
Karl-Anthony Towns as stepped up his game at the center position as this season has gone forward. He’s averaging 23 PPG, 11.9 RPG and 1.5 BPG. He’s been even better than that over his last several games.
In the last five games, he’s scored at least 32-points in four contests and has a doublel-double now in six in a row and 16 of his last 17 games.
The Wolves are at a distinct disadvantage on paper against a Cavs team with James, Love and Kyrie Irving, but the one spot that Minnesota may have the edge is in the middle with Towns.
The Cavaliers have Tristian Thompson at center, but Towns has three inches of height and a few extra pounds on the Cleveland center. He’s also averaging nearly 16 more PPG, a couple more rebounds per game and has nabbed a few more blocks, too.
In fact, Thompson is one of the players that’s really struggled with consistency during the Cavs’ losing stretch. He’s tallied double-doubles in the last two games—both wins—but was averaging just 7.5 PPG and eight RPG during the rough eight game span.
Injury Report
The Cavaliers have started to play a bit better, but the health of Love’s back remains a concern. Without Love at full strength this, obviously, isn’t the same team and Cleveland’s latest struggles are a testament to that.
Love managed just over a dozen minutes on the floor against the Thunder on Sunday, scoring just a single point, but he did have eight rebounds in that time which is big against what can be a surprising solid front court for Minnesota. The Wolves are out rebounding their opposition by more than two and a half boards per game.
In addition, the Cavs are also weakened on the outside with Irving missing J.R. Smith, forcing Iman Shumpert into a larger workload.
Smith’s now missed 21 games in a row and while the team managed to win four straight, covering the spread in each, they’ve got just 4-12-1 ATS since that point. In all, they’re 10-14-2 ATS without Smith.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The Timberwolves aren’t a very good team, but they’re playing much better now than they did at the beginning of the year.
Between Towns and Andrew Wiggins, this is a team with some good young talent and we’ve seen flashes of them as a cohesive unit.
In their 20-point win over Brooklyn on Saturday, Towns, Wiggins and Zach LaVine each gave the team 20-points while the offense shot over 50-percent from the floor.
The offense has started to come around and could play well against an average Cleveland defense, allowing 105 PPG, but don’t look for the Timberwolves’ defense to be able to keep LeBron and company in check. Even with the struggles, the Cavs have been putting points on the board.
Look for Cleveland to get the win as they seem to be mostly back to form, but don’t expect a blowout either. Keep an eye on the spread and look for this to be reasonably close.
NBA Odds: Cavaliers 111, Timberwolves 104
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