Minnesota -6 over CLEVELAND
The Minnesota Timberwolves hope to remain perfect in February when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers at Gund Arena tonight. The Timberwolves, who are 3-0 this month, posted a big victory last night in their first game after the All-Star break, 100-98, over league-leading Dallas as Wally Szczerbiak nailed a jumper from the left wing just before the buzzer. The Cavs, meanwhile, have lost five of six overall, including a 107-96 setback at Indiana last night.
Coming off the victory over Dallas, we look for that momentum to carry over for the T-Wolves here. Minnesota, over the past 7+ seasons, is 4-0 ATS, beating the spread by a whopping 14 points a game, when playing on the road without rest off a home win of 3 or less points. In the opposing role, Cleveland is 0-5 ATS since the start of the 1997 campaign, and 2-10 ATS overall for the past 7+ seasons of our research. Overall for the Wolves, when playing on the road without rest off a home victory, they are a solid 10-3 ATS, while the Cavaliers are 0-4 ATS this season when hosting such company. Even as a road favorite in such a spot, Minnesota is 7-2 ATS over the past 7+ seasons, while Cleveland is a disastrous 0-10 SU/1-9 ATS in the opposing role, creating another powerful trend dichotomy.
Other numbers also indicate that the Cavs are in a tough situation here. As a home underdog off a road loss, they are just 3-10-2 ATS, while the Timberwolves are 12-3 ATS vs. such opposition. While most coaching changes bear some fruit at some point, this has not been the case for Cleveland. Evidently they wanted to fire John Lucas and promote someone who wouldn't hurt their chances in the Lebron James Lottery. Mission accomplished.
PROJECTED FINAL SCORE: MINNESOTA 106 CLEVELAND 96