Cleveland Is Struggling Without Donovan Mitchell
The Cavaliers vs Timberwolves Odds & Trends Favor Minnesota
The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t had Donovan Mitchell for a solid portion of this year’s season. Yet, the Cavaliers are still 43-26 and in prime position for a top-four playoff spot in the East.
The Cavaliers are coming off a loss to the Heat, 107-104. They’ve lost three of their last five games and are still playing without Max Strus, Dean Wade, and Mitchell.
Without those three, Cleveland now has the Minnesota Timberwolves on the schedule, who are currently 47-22 on the NBA season. While Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid have been on the sideline recently, both are questionable heading into this game.
Without Gobert and Reid on Tuesday, the Timberwolves lost to the Nuggets 115-112, ending a three-game winning streak.
Although the Timberwolves have less uncertainty about their roster heading into this game, the Timberwolves are still favorites, sitting at -7. Meanwhile, the total is currently 207.5.
Take a look at the Cavaliers vs Timberwolves odds for this Eastern-Western showdown between two of the top teams in the NBA.
Cavaliers vs Timberwolves 
Day/Time:
Location: Target Center
Streaming: NBA TV
Cavaliers vs Timberwolves Odds & Trends
The Cavaliers are 5-5 against the spread in their last ten games. They’ve also hit the Over and Under in five games each over the ten-game span.
However, more recently, the Cavaliers haven’t covered in two of the last three games but have hit the Over in the two games where they lost.
On the other hand, Minnesota is also 5-5 against the spread in their last five games. However, in the previous four games, the Timberwolves have covered in all four games. The Over has also been hit in six of the last ten games for the Timberwolves.
Cleveland defeated Minnesota on March 8, 113-104 in overtime as a 1-point favorite. However, Minnesota had won and covered the previous three games played between these two NBA teams in 2022 and 2023.
Donovan Mitchell Still Listed Out
A couple of days ago, the Cavaliers announced Donovan Mitchell would be out for at least another week after undergoing surgery to repair a nasal fracture.
The Cleveland guard is already unable to win awards this year after sitting out too many games. He had returned for a short period of time after a seven-game absence due to a bone bruise in his knee. Now he’s got to recover from nasal surgery.
It’s been a rough year for Mitchell. But the Cavaliers hope he’ll be available and ready to go for the NBA playoffs. That’s all that really matters for Mitchell and the Cavaliers at this point.
Anthony Edwards’ Rise To Stardom
Most of the basketball world saw it quickly. However, some fans probably didn’t take notice until this year.
But finally, Anthony Edwards is a star in the NBA. The Minnesota guard has scored nearly 27 points per game, with 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per night. Those are some amazing NBA stats from the Minnesota guard. While he’s had some monster dunks that have left fans speechless, he’s also led the Timberwolves to an incredible season.
Minnesota is 47-22, and Edwards has played in all but three of the Timberwolves’ games this year. He’s fit in well with Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. But those two guys have missed their fair share of games.
He’s kept everything together and hasn’t let the Timberwolves fumble all season. He’s becoming the biggest star in the NBA. He won’t be at the top of the NBA odds MVP this year, but he’s an interesting option for next season.
Life Without Mitchell Isn’t Fun
Cleveland’s offense isn’t the same without Donovan Mitchell. The Cavaliers added just 104 points against Miami, 107 points against the Pacers, and 103 against Houston in their last three games. That won’t be enough to beat the bigger and better teams in the NBA.
The last time the Cleveland offense scored more than 120 points per 100 possessions was on February 27 against the Dallas Mavericks in a 121-119 win.
The Cavaliers aren’t getting good looks and also aren’t adding many offensive rebounds. In four of their last six games, they have earned no more than 20% of offensive rebounds. Lately, Cleveland has done a better job getting to the foul line, but they haven’t been consistent this year.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are still playing respectable defense. They’re limited fouls at a high rate and have held opponents to a 53.6% effective field goal percentage or lower in three of their last four NBA games.
Don’t expect the Cavaliers to earn a high rate of turnovers. But Cleveland also won’t give up many offensive rebounds on the defensive end.
On the other hand, Minnesota’s offense has been much better. They’ve had eight consecutive games with no more than 14% of turnovers in any of them. They must hang onto the ball because the Timberwolves rarely get to the foul line.
Still, Minnesota has shot an effective field goal percentage of 57.1% over the last four games. If they continue to shoot that percentage from the field and limit turnovers, they’ll score enough to get by Cleveland’s lackluster offense right now.
The Timberwolves continue to earn a high rate of turnovers and are just the overall better defense with or without Rudy Gobert. After looking at the Cavaliers vs Timberwolves odds, we’ll back Minnesota at home at -7. The Timberwolves have been more consistent against the spread, per the NBA scores. So, let’s take them here.
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