The Portland Trail Blazers will travel to the Target Center to challenge the Minnesota Timberwolves in their home opener. The game begins at 8:00 pm ET on Monday, Nov. 2 and can be seen on CNW and FNo.
The Timberwolves beat the Nuggets 95-78 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns was the game’s high scorer with 28 points on 11-for-19 shooting. The Trail Blazers are coming off a 101-90 loss to the Suns on Saturday. Damian Lillard had a team-high 23 points.
The Timberwolves have performed very well early on with a 2-0 record Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS). The Timberwolves are one of the best in the NBA in terms of free throws made, making a stellar 32.0 per game. The Timberwolves have really locked down opponents, ranking first in the league with a .340 opponent field-goal percentage. Not making mistakes with the ball is a staple of Minnesota’s offense, which averages just 12.5 turnovers per game.
As for their opponent, the Trail Blazers head into the game with records of 1-2 both ATS and SU.
The divisional foes will be facing off in their first head-to-head contest of the season. When they last met the Trail Blazers were winners, bumping their SU record over the last 10 meetings to 7-3. With a 6-3-1 record, the Trail Blazers also have the advantage ATS. Portland has led in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) three times over the last 10. Minnesota has never had the edge in all categories.
Predictions: SU Winner – Min
Notes
Minnesota is 2-12 SU in its last 14 games.
Minnesota is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Minnesota’s last 9 games at home.
Minnesota is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Minnesota is 5-20 SU in its last 25 games when playing Portland.
Minnesota is 3-9-1 ATS in its last 13 games when playing Portland.
The total has gone OVER in 14 of Minnesota’s last 20 games when playing Portland.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Minnesota’s last 7 games when playing at home against Portland.
Minnesota is 4-11 SU in its last 15 games when playing at home against Portland.
Minnesota is 4-12 ATS in its last 16 games when playing at home against Portland.
Minnesota puts up an average of 103.5 points per game (ranked 13th). Portland ranks 16th in points allowed per game with 101.7.
When opponents score fewer than 100 points, the Minnesota Timberwolves are a perfect 1-0 this season. When they fail to hit triple digits, the Portland Trail Blazers are a winless 0-2.
In games where Minnesota allows at least 100 points, the Timberwolves are undefeated (1-0). The Trail Blazers are also undefeated in games in which they hit the century mark (1-0).
The Trail Blazers have a defensive rating of 96.1 (ranked 11th). The Timberwolves rank eighth for their offensive rating of 103.3.
Minnesota averages fewer possessions per game than Portland, with 100.2 compared to 101.3. However, the Timberwolves score an average of 1.033 points per possession, more than the .968 that the Trail Blazers score.
Minnesota averages an effective field goal percentage of 46.4%. Portland has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage (0-2).
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.68, rank sixth in the NBA. The Portland Trail Blazers have a lower A/TO (1.16), ranking 22nd.
The Minnesota Timberwolves rebound 44.0 times per game and are ranked 19th. Ranked 13th, the Portland Trail Blazers rebound 46.0 times per game.
The Portland Trail Blazers rank 21st in offensive rebounding, while the Minnesota Timberwolves rank seventh in defensive rebounding.
Portland’s defense forces its opponents to commit an average turnover percentage of 14.2%. In games where Minnesota has a TOV% of 14.2% or higher, the team is undefeated (1-0).
