The Minnesota Timberwolves host the Cleveland Cavaliers in a star-studded Saturday night matchup.
The pregame narrative: The Cavs pace the Eastern Conference and I’ll back them to beat a T-Wolves squad playing on a back-to-back. Prop bets on Anthony Edwards and Jarrett Allen round out this +325 wager.
Check out my Cavaliers vs. Timberwolves same-game parlay predictions for Jan. 18.
Cavaliers vs. Timberwolves predictions
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Parlay: Cavaliers moneyline + Edwards over 2.5 threes + Allen under 12.5 points (+325)
Cavaliers moneyline (-235): The Cavs are coming off a 20-point loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but there are plenty of reasons to believe they’ll rebound tonight.
- The Cavs have the best record (34-6) and net rating (+9.7) in the Eastern Conference.
- Cleveland is 4-1 following a loss this season, winning three of those games by double digits.
- Minnesota is 2-3 SU when playing on a back-to-back this year.
Kenny Atkinson has turned the Cavs into legitimate title contenders with an elite defence and strong offence. His team plays with the sixth-fastest pace in the NBA, while Minnesota ranks 27th.
With more rest, I expect Cleveland to dictate the pace of this game and pour it on a Minnesota team that was in New York less than 24 hours ago.
SGP legs
Edwards over 2.5 threes (-265): Edwards has put a miserable December behind him and is on a tear from deep to start 2025.
- 5.1 threes on 10.1 attempts/game (47.4%)
- 3+ threes in 7/9 games
- 5+ threes in 5/9 games
The dynamic shooting guard is coming off a 36-point night where he canned eight triples against the Knicks.
The one suspect part of Cleveland’s game is its perimeter defending, and Edwards should exploit that.
The Cavs rank 20th in opponent 3-point percentage (36.5%), though they do allow the 11th-fewest 3s per game (11.4).
But this bet seems safe strictly from a volume standpoint.
Allen under 12.5 points (-106): Evan Mobley is questionable with calf soreness. If he’s ruled out that should open up more looks for Allen, and you may see his point total rise a few ticks.
But either way, I’m happy to fade Cleveland’s big man.
Allen takes 72% of his shots at the rim and 26% of his shots in the “short mid-range” (shots from four to 14 feet), per Cleaning the Glass.
Minnesota has the ninth-best rim defence and fourth-best short mid-range defence. With Rudy Gobert in the paint, nothing should come easy.
Picks made at 11:47 a.m. ET 01/18/2025
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.