The Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves will play on Friday night in an inter-conference matchup. It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Cavaliers-Timberwolves prediction and pick.
The Cavaliers and Timberwolves will play on Friday night in matchup between two teams that appear to be on the rise. Each of these teams are off to solid starts this season after being among the worst teams in the league last season. Cleveland looks like they have a promising future behind Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobely. The Timberwolves look bound for success as well with Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns both playing well and figuring out how to win together. The Cavaliers come in as a very slight favorites over the Timberwolves in this one despite being on the road.
Here are the Cavaliers-Timberwolves odds for this Friday night NBA matchup, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Cavaliers-Timberwolves odds
Cleveland Cavaliers
Minnesota Timberwolves
Over
Under
*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why The Cavaliers Can Cover The Spread
Article Continues BelowCleveland may be the biggest surprise in the NBA this season. Rookie and 2021 No. 3 overall pick Evan Mobley has been legit from the jump and has been the best rookie so far this season. He and Jarrett Allen have led the Cavaliers to one of the better defenses in the NBA so far. Darius Garland has the reins of the offense and has been effective as both a scorer and a playmaker. Despite losing Collin Sexton for the season with a knee injury, Cleveland has been able to stay afloat and sits as the No. 6 seed in the East with a 14-12 record. The Cavaliers have won five of their last seven games as they continue to play well into the meat of the NBA season. Their defense should present challenges for the Timberwolves and Karl-Anthony Towns inside. Towns is one of the better scoring big men in the game, but dealing with Mobley and Allen has proven to be no joke for opponents this season.
The Cavaliers should have a good chance to cover and win as the Timberwolves have lost four straight games. Cleveland is 8-5 on the road this season.
Why The Timberwolves Can Cover The Spread
Minnesota will look to snap a four-game losing streak when they host the Cavaliers on Friday night. Overall this season the Wolves have looked better, but they have fallen into a bit of a tough skid after running into a tough part of their schedule. Edwards and Towns will no doubt come out hungry in this one to avoid a five-game losing streak. The Timberwolves are 7-8 on their home floor this season but have dropped their last two at the Target Center. Minnesota should be in a good position to win and cover on their home floor in a spot where they really should be playing with urgency. Minnesota will look to stay in the play-in picture this season and if the losses continue to pile up that may become less of a reality than it looks like it could still be right now. Patrick Beverly is probable, while D'Angelo Russell is questionable for the Wolves.
Final Cavaliers-Timberwolves Prediction & Pick
Take the Timberwolves to win and cover vs. the Cavaliers at home on Friday. They really need this win, and in an even matchup favoring the home team is usually not the worst idea.
Final Cavaliers-Timberwolves Prediction & Pick: Timberwolves +1 (-112)