Game Time: 7:10 PM ET, Monday, February 28th, 2022 

Venue:  Rockets Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, Ohio

Where to Watch:  NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread: 

Fanduel:  Spread:  

VegasInsider:  Spread: 

WynnBet: Spread:  

Timberwolves: 32-29, 7th place Western Conference

Cavaliers: 36-24, 4th place Eastern Conference

A non-conference NBA matchup between a good team in the East and a slowly rising team in the West.  This matchup is actually a good matchup.  At first glance it looks like a mismatch, which isn’t right.  The core players on each team matchup quite well… similar ages, similar athleticism. The Difference maker of course will be PG Darius Garland for the Cavaliers. He has no equal on the Minnesota squad.  He is fresh off his first all-star appearance in the exact same Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse… and he is a star on the rise.  The difference with Darius’s difference making is he is listed as Questionable for the game with a lower back contusion.  If Darius does not play, the advantage swings to Minnesota.  The point spread may stay the same though… so check the lineup closely and bet as close to the game as you can get.  Yes, when you find a great betting opportunity that tells you to wait you may miss a swing in the spread… but if waiting is worth it?… do it.    The difference maker on the Timberwolves is of course C Karl-Anthony Towns.  Karl is coming off a great win in the NBA 3-point contest.  He shot the lights out and will be riding high with a renewed enthusiasm.  SF Anthony Edwards is finally starting to mesh with Karl-Anthony Towns.  Almost everything up to January in Minnesota seemed like opposing forces taking turns at trying to lead the team… but since, they are starting to show a complimentary style of play… the team is playing better and slowly rising in the standings.  It may be Fools Gold… it may just be because the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets are plummeting.

The Timberwolves have won 6 of their last ten games.  They went 5-4-1 ATS.  Also 7 Overs and 3 unders.  They have lost to some quality teams though the Philadelphia 76ers, the Toronto Raptors, the Chicago Bulls… and had one stubbed toe misstep against the awful Sacramento Kings.  The Timberwolves leading scorer is C Karl-Anthony Towns.. He was paired with his good friend PG D’Angelo Russell who leads the team in Assists.  This pairing isn’t perfect.  They don’t completely compliment each other the way CP3 and DeAndre Ayton or Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid do.  They seem like competing scorers… this imbalance is holding back young SF Anthony Edwards who should be the team's scorer.  This squad could immediately become a contender if Karl-Anthony focused more on rebounds and defense while D’Angelo Russell focused on directing the offense with crisp passing and of course defense.  Until that time the team has 3 scorers competing with each other for the position of Alpha.  Of course the trio should not be suppressing elements of their games… but the focus should be on the team first.  They have two good examples of this concept right on the starting five in defensive guard Patrick Beverley and PF Jarred Vanderbilt.  

The Cavaliers have also won 6 of their last ten games.  They have only gone 4-6 ATS during that stretch.  The Under is strong with this defensive group: 6 Unders, 3 Overs, and 1 Push.   Leading scorer Darius Garland has been lighting up the league with 20.3 ppg and 8 apg… Shocking to think that guard Collin Sexton has missed the whole season after pulling down 16 ppg last season.  Collin had several 25 point games toward the end of his run before going down.  When these two guards get together full time again this team is poised to take a big jump.  C Jarrett Allen is an all-star and plays like it… PF Evan Mobley is a ROY candidate and clearly a future all-star. There is no limit to where the Cavs can go.  SG Caris LaVert came over from the Pacers and is currently out with a foot injury until mid-March… PG Rajon Rondo came over from Los Angeles and is out until mid-March… PF Kevin Love is a mainstay coming off the bench… when the playoffs hit?  This team could be poised to take somebody by surprise.

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Minnesota is 32-29 on the season, but 30-29-2 ATS.  They have logged 37 Overs and 24 Unders.  They have logged 14-17 in road games.

The Cavaliers are 36-24 on the season, but 34-24-2 ATS.  They have notched 22 Overs, 37 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 19-9 in home games.

The Timberwolves are 6th in scoring with 113.1 ppg, 14th in rebounds with 44.7 per game, and 14th in AST/TOo ratio with 1.7.  On defense they struggle, ranking 22nd while allowing 112.1 ppg from opponents.

The Cavaliers are 26th in scoring with 106.4 ppg, 12th in rebounds with 44.9 per game, and 19th in AST/TO in 1.7. They rank 1st on defense… FIRST IN DEFENSE while holding 102.3 ppg from opponents.

Our prediction for Monday, February 28th is….  Cavaliers 110 - Timberwolves 105

The Cavs with Darius Garland win this game outright and cover… without Darius Garland they struggle and lose outright.  The difference is about watching the basketball news closely.  If you can’t commit to a bet by the deadline… bet the Under.  

 

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(will update as the numbers settled)

Timberwolves: SG Malik Beasley (illness) Out ** PG McKinley Wright IV (elbow) Out

Cavaliers: PG Darius Garland (back) Quest ** PG Rajon Rondo (toe) Out ** SG Darius Garland (foot) Out ** PG Collin Sexton (knee) Out

Timberwolves: SF Anthony Edwards, PF Jarred Vanderbilt, C Karl-Anthony Towns, PG D’Angelo Russell, PG Patrick Beverley

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

Timberwolves

Points: Karl-Anthony Towns 24.4

Assists: D’Angelo Russell 7.0

Rebounds: Karl-Anthony Towns 9.7

Steals: Anthony Edwards 1.5

Blocks: Karl-Anthony Towns 1.1

Cavaliers

Points: Darius Garland 20.3 

Assists: Darius Garland 8.0

Rebounds: Jarrett Allen 11.0

Steals: Caris LaVert 1.5

Blocks: Evan Mobley 1.7

Timberwolves: Chris Finch

Cavaliers: J.B. Bickerstaff