Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Picks, Predictions, Odds and Player Props

The 2024/25 NBA season is in full swing, and Saturday features a number of compelling contests, including a matchup between the best team in the Eastern Conference against a team on the rise in the West.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off a loss at the hands of Oklahoma City Thunder, while the Minnesota Timberwolves knocked off the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Friday.

It’s time to get into our expert’s Cleveland Cavaliers vs Minnesota Timberwolves betting picks and predictions for Saturday’s game. 

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves betting picks and predictions

Minnesota Timberwolves +6.0 (-110)

The Minnesota Timberwolves will be playing the second game of a back-to-back situation when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers in an inter-conference matchup on Saturday night.

Minnesota is coming off a massive confidence-building road win in New York on Friday, which was made even bigger by the fact that those two teams linked up for the biggest trade of the offseason, sending Julius Randle to the Timberwolves and Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks. 

The Timberwolves dominated the game on both ends behind Anthony Edwards’ 36 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, which bodes well for the Timberwolves offense against a similar level of opponent on Saturday. 

While the second leg of a back-to-back is always tough, it could actually be a good thing for the Timberwolves when they have this kind of momentum.

It’s also worth noting that the ‘Wolves won their most recent second leg of a back-to-back, knocking off the New Orleans Pelicans on the road last Tuesday while playing on zero days rest.

While the Cavaliers are a whopping 14-4 on the road this season, Cleveland is still better at home, where it sports an NBA-best 20-2 record. The Cavaliers are far from unbeatable when they are traveling, especially if star big man Evan Mobley doesn’t play. At the time of writing, Mobley (averaging 18.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game this season) is questionable for Saturday due to a lingering calf injury. 

While this season has been underwhelming on the whole so far for Minnesota, Friday’s result against New York could be just what the doctor ordered. This is just a bit too many points for Cleveland to be laying on the road against a playoff team, so we’ll take Minnesota +6.0 at -110 at home. 

Under 226.5 (-110)

Given the fact that an over game script would traditionally go hand-in-hand with a Cavaliers win and cover in this spot, our expert is of the opinion that we’ll see a bit less scoring than usual in Saturday’s contest. 

Both of these teams are exceptional defensively, particularly Minnesota, as the Timberwolves have found their footing on that side of the ball in recent weeks. Chris Finch’s team just stymied a Knicks offense that is one of the best units in basketball, and Rudy Gobert is one of the only interior defenders that can give the Cavaliers duo of Mobley and Jarett Allen some real problems in the paint.

On the other side, the Cavaliers are going up against a Minnesota offense that has struggled with shooting from the perimeter all season long, and I’d expect that Cleveland will approach this game with a high level of intensity and effort given that the Cavaliers are coming off a blowout loss to Oklahoma City. 

All things considered, it’s hard to see a Minnesota offense that is 16th in adjusted offensive rating have much success against a Cavaliers defense that is now up to 10th in adjusted defensive rating, and will likely continue to rise through the ranks with each passing week. 

There is a real possibility for either team to cover the number in this game while still going under the total and that is the only way our expert can look in this matchup.

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Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves odds

Cleveland Cavaliers	-245 ML
Minnesota Timberwolves	+200 ML
Spread	CLE Cavaliers -6.0
Total Points	O/U 226.5

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves player props

Player Points

Donovan Mitchell (CLE Cavaliers)	O/U 22.5
Darius Garland (CLE Cavaliers)	O/U 21.5
Jarrett Allen (CLE Cavaliers)	O/U 13.5
Anthony Edwards (MIN Timberwolves)	O/U 26.5
Julius Randle (MIN Timberwolves)	O/U 18.5
Naz Reid (MIN Timberwolves)	O/U 13.5

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.