The Minnesota Timberwolves (8-9) take on the visiting Orlando Magic (9-8) at the Target Center. The game starts at 8:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Dec. 1 and will air on FxF and FNo.
The Timberwolves lost to the Clippers 107-99 on Sunday. Gorgui Dieng played well in the loss for Minnesota, recording 14 points and 10 rebounds to earn his second double-double of the season. The Magic, meanwhile, are coming off a 110-91 win over the Celtics on Sunday. Victor Oladipo shot 5-for-12 and led in scoring with 19 points.
Over the last five games, Tobias Harris has been on a tear for the Magic. During that stretch, he has averaged 16.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steal, 1.4 blocks, and 1.0 three-pointer.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Magic won the first game 104-101. Evan Fournier was a standout player in the game, producing 26 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals, and five three-pointers.
The Timberwolves are favored by a slight one-point margin in their matchup against Orlando. The matchup currently has a 203-point Over/Under (O/U). The Timberwolves enter the game with records of 8-9 Straight Up (SU) and 10-7 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 5-5 SU and 6-4 ATS against teams from the Eastern Conference. Minnesota has gotten to the free throw line often this season. They average 21 made free throws per game, which is fourth-best in the NBA. An area where the Timberwolves are particularly strong is defensive rebounding where they average 35.2 defensive rebounds per game, fifth in the NBA.
Across the court, Orlando has a SU record of 9-8 and an ATS record of 11-6. In Western Conference games, Orlando has gone 4-3 SU and ATS.
Orlando won the last meeting this season between these two teams, bringing its SU record in the past 10 games to 8-2. Additionally, the Magic lead the matchup ATS with a record of 8-2.
Predictions: SU Winner – Orl, ATS Winner – Orl, O/U – Over
Notes
Minnesota is 8-17 SU in its last 25 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Minnesota’s last 7 games at home.
Minnesota is 2-14 SU in its last 16 games at home.
Minnesota is 1-8 ATS in its last 9 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 6 games when playing Orlando.
Minnesota is 2-12 SU in its last 14 games when playing Orlando.
Minnesota is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Orlando.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 5 games when playing at home against Orlando.
Minnesota ranks 14th in points per game with 101.2, while Orlando ranks 15th in points allowed with an average of 100.0 given up.
Minnesota ranks 23rd in points per home game with 98.4 points, while Orlando ranks 19th in points allowed on the road with 103.4.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Minnesota Timberwolves are an exceptional 6-2. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Orlando Magic have an abysmal record of 1-5.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Timberwolves are just 2-7 this season. Orlando is a winning 8-3 when it hits the century mark.
The Timberwolves have an offensive rating of 101.4 (ranked 16th). The Magic rank 10th for their defensive rating of 100.2.
With 99.7 possessions and 1.014 points per possession, the Minnesota Timberwolves perform worse on both metrics than the Orlando Magic. Orlando averages 100.3 possessions and 1.016 points per possession.
The Minnesota Timberwolves average an effective field goal percentage of 48.0% this season. The Orlando Magic have an underachieving record of 2-5 when opponents have an EFF% of 48.0% or greater.
On average, the Orlando Magic make 22.8 assists per game and the Minnesota Timberwolves make 20.6. Orlando is ranked eighth, while Minnesota is ranked 19th.
Minnesota makes an average of 4.6 blocks per game (ranked 19th). Orlando ranks higher in blocks with 6.1 (ranked seventh).
Minnesota is ranked 23rd when it comes to offensive rebounding. Orlando ranks 11th in defensive rebounds.
The Minnesota Timberwolves make an average of 7.1 steals per game. The Orlando Magic are 4-6 when they allow 7 or more steals.
