Cleveland Cavaliers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Preview (1/14/23): Prediction, Starting Lineups, Odds

After a huge win against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers, Cleveland will look to build on its road success against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.

Our projections, game prediction, and betting picks are available to you below, as well as the projected starting lineups, current odds, and updated injury reports.

Cleveland Cavaliers Vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Betting Odds

The Cavaliers are three-point road favorites against the Minnesota Timberwolves. This game would be much more exciting if Karl Anthony-Towns were available for Minnesota, but he will, unfortunately, still be out.

Jordan McLaughlin. Anthony Edwards, Kyle Anderson, and Taurean Prince are all listed as day-to-day ahead of Saturday night’s matchup, too.

Cleveland should have almost everyone healthy, with the exception of Dylan Windler and Dean Wade.

Cleveland Cavaliers Vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction

Despite letting Damian Lillard drop 50 points, the Cleveland Cavaliers still found a way to squeak out a narrow road win, something they don’t have too many of this season.

Cleveland’s bread and butter has been its defense, where it ranks first in defensive rating and opponent points per game, sixth in DREB% (defensive rebounding percentage), and eighth in opponent eFG% (effective field goal percentage.)

Still, Cleveland has an Achilles heel on that end of the floor: defending the three-point line.

As a matter of fact, the Cavs rank 27th in opponent 3P% (three-point percentage), which is one of their problems when they travel on the road.

They give up 38.5% shooting from deep to opposing teams when they are away from Rocket Mortgage.

Luckily for Cleveland, the Timberwolves rank just outside the bottom ten in 3P% and are missing sharpshooting big man Karl Anthony-Towns.

Another fortunate aspect of this game is that Minnesota will be on the second night of a back-to-back.

Still, Minnesota has been playing some solid ball recently, winning four of its past five games; its only loss (Detroit) was bad, though.

Rudy Gobert has stepped up in his past four games, posting roughly 19 points and 15 boards on average, which are both much higher than his season averages.

He’s been quite inconsistent this season, and so far, the big trade has not panned out how the Timberwolves hoped.

Despite Gobert being a dominant force in the paint on defense, he can’t help the abysmal Minnesota perimeter, which has been its demise in several games. Cleveland should be able to grab a win here, as Anthony Edwards has cooled off recently.

Betting Trends

• Cleveland is 6-12-2 ATS on the road in 2022-23
• Minnesota is 10-11 ATS at home in 2022-23
• The combined over record of these two teams is 40-44 in 2022-23

Key Matchups

Two of the best shooting guards in the league face off on Saturday night. Donovan Mitchell and Anthony Edwards will be our key matchup for this one, so take a look and see who I’m projecting will finish with a better overall game.

Anthony Edwards vs. Donovan Mitchell

It should go without saying, but both of these players are tough assignments, no matter the player across from them.

In this battle, two of the most dynamic, athletic shooting guards will have to lock down defensively on every possession and score on the other end of the floor, as well.

We know both of these players will score, so the real question is, which will play better defense?

This season, Cleveland has allowed the fewest points to opposing shooting guards in the NBA, and you can guess which player plays the two for the Cavs.

Additionally, Minnesota is horrendous defending the perimeter (29th in opponent 3P%), so Mitchell should get clean looks all night long. Advantage: Donovan Mitchell.

Cleveland Cavaliers Starting Lineup

PG: Darius Garland
SG: Donovan Mitchell
SF: Isaac Okoro
PF: Evan Mobley
C: Jarrett Allen

Minnesota Timberwolves Starting Lineups

PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Anthony Edwards
SF: Kyle Anderson
PF: Jaden McDaniels
C: Rudy Gobert

Key Injuries

Cleveland Cavaliers Injuries: Dean Wade (Out), Dylan Windler (Out)

Minnesota Timberwolves Injuries: Karl Anthony-Towns (Out), Jordan McLaughlin (Out), Anthony Edwards (Q), Taurean Prince (Q), Kyle Anderson (Q)