NBA Basketball
2012-01-06 - Cleveland Cavaliers at Minnesota T-Wolves
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Friday 6 January 2012 - Tip Off 8pm ET
1am (British Standard Time)
Preview
The Minnesota Timberwolves (2-4) have not recorded the victories they have perhaps deserved this season, and they come off probably their most disappointing defeat when they fell to the Memphis Grizzlies at home last time out.
Minnesota have one of the top rookies in the NBA this season in Ricky Rubio, although there were concerns before the season started as to how the Spaniard would adjust to the change in pace that he was initially used to. So far so good for Rubio who leads the League for rookies in terms of assists at 7 per game so far and the Spanish player is coming off his first double-double of his NBA career.
With players like Kevin Love and Michael Beasley also in the line up, Minnesota have a decent roster that could potentially push for a Play Off place in May. Their 4 defeats have come by a combined 13 points this season against the likes of Memphis, Miami and Oklahoma City while they have recorded wins over Dallas and San Antonio.
The Timberwolves will feel confident they can improve the number in the win column as they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers (3-3), a team that is still in the rebuilding stakes since LeBron James moved to Miami last year. Cleveland have begun that task by bringing in Kyrie Irving as the Number 1 pick in the draft and he has impressed in his early career.
Irving is only second to Rubio in terms of assists this season for rookies and he is averaging 14 points per game. He has helped the team make a much better start to the new season than they did last year when they had a terrible year, but they have been given a soft schedule to start off and things are definitely tougher for them in the next week.
Head to Head
Minnesota won both games in the regular season against Cleveland last season, both straight up and against the spread.
Cleveland were 8-1 against the spread in their last 9 games before last season against Minnesota, but those games were in a different time for the Cavaliers as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Minnesota are 5-1 against the spread this season, Cleveland are 4-2.
Minnesota are 0-1 against the spread as the favourite, Cleveland are 2-1 as the underdog.
Other Interesting Trends
Minnesota are 4-1 against the spread in their last 5 games following a straight up loss.
However, they are just 8-17 against the spread in their last 25 games as the home favourite of between 5 and 10.5 points.
Cleveland are 7-1 against the spread in their last 8 games as the road underdog of between 5 and 10.5 points.
They are 2-5 against the spread in their last 7 games against teams from the Western Conference.
Prediction
I am going to back the Minnesota Timberwolves to cover the spread in this game for the following reasons:
First, I think Minnesota are a much better team than their record indicates and are a tough team to play on the road.
Second, Cleveland have a good record, but I think they have taken advantage of a nice schedule and are a little over-rated at the moment.
Third, Minnesota crushed Cleveland here last season and won both games against them. I also think they have the two best players on the court in Michael Beasley and Kevin Love and that should push them over the edge to win the game with a little bit to spare.
The Pick :
Minnesota T-Wolves 101-90 Cleveland Cavaliers
