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

It could be a potential NBA Finals preview when the Cleveland Cavaliers host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

Cleveland finds itself atop the Eastern Conference with a 42-10 record. Minnesota is well short of that, as a 30-23 mark has it in sixth place in the West.

However, the Timberwolves have been playing some of their best basketball in recent weeks; they are 8-2 in their last 10 games.

With Timberwolves vs. Cavaliers starting at 7 PM ET, it’s time to take a look at the odds and best bets to make.

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Cleveland Cavaliers betting picks and predictions

Cleveland Cavaliers -9 (-105)

First and foremost, Anthony Edwards is questionable for the Timberwolves.

The former University of Georgia standout delivered back-to-back performances of at least 40 points this past Wednesday and Thursday, before missing Saturday’s contest against Portland due to a hip injury.

If Edwards can’t go, it would obviously be a huge loss for Minnesota, especially with Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo also on the sidelines at the moment.

Moreover, the ‘Wolves have not played a road game since January 30 and going in to Cleveland is about as tough as it gets (the Cavaliers are 24-4 inside Rocket Mortgage Arena this season).

In fact, the Timberwolves could not even beat the Cavs when these two teams collided at the Target Center in Minnesota last month, the visitors prevailed 124-117. And that was when Edwards was on the floor and 100 percent - he and Randle combined for 48 points.

As for the Cavaliers, they are pretty much at full strength and rolling – winners of six of their last seven.

They own a 5.5-game lead in the Eastern Conference over Boston, which is substantial but not enough to take their foot off the gas pedal any time soon.

Donovan Mitchell (24.0 ppg) has matched or exceeded his season average in points in seven of the last nine games, a stretch that features five performances of 30 points or more.

Look for the Cavs to maintain their fine form and once again take care of business with ease in front of the home crowd.

Under 238 (-110)

The first meeting between Minnesota and Cleveland resulted in 241 points, but that was with Edwards and Randle on the floor for the home team.

Regardless, the under looks like a strong play to make for this rematch.

The Timberwolves boast the No.4 scoring defense in the NBA, giving up just 108.0 points per game. At 112.1 ppg allowed, the Cavaliers are sixth in that department in the Eastern Conference.

Cleveland has held its three most recent opponents to a modest 34.9 percent clip from three-point range.

It should also be noted that Minnesota plays at a slow pace, coming in at No.26 league wide in possessions per game.

Being undermanned on Monday, the visitors should be especially content to slow things down in this spot.

Darius Garland Over 21.5 points (-115) 

Garland is red hot right now, a big reason why Cleveland is so on fire as a team. The Vanderbilt product has scored at least 20 points in 13 of the last 15 games, including performances of 39 and 40 points.

He has delivered at least 23 points in each of the last three outings.

In the previous head-to-head matchup between these two teams on January 18, Minnesota had no chance of stopping Garland.

He went for 29 points on 8-for-19 shooting, including a 5-for-10 effort from three-point range and eight of eight free-throws made.

There is no reason to think that his current scoring barrage won’t continue on Monday.

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Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Cleveland Cavaliers betting odds

Minnesota Timberwolves	+290 ML
Cleveland Cavaliers	-370 ML
Spread	CLE Cavaliers -9
Total Points	O/U 228.5

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Cleveland Cavaliers player props

Player Points

Anthony Edwards (MIN Timberwolves)	O/U 31.5
Naz Reid (MIN Timberwolves)	O/U 18.5
Jaden McDaniels (MIN Timberwolves)	O/U 14.5
Donovan Mitchell (CLE Cavaliers)	O/U 23.5
Darius Garland (CLE Cavaliers)	O/U 21.5
Evan Mobley (CLE Cavaliers)	O/U 16.5

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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.