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The Minnesota Timberwolves will be at home to face the Utah Jazz on Friday. Both Northwest division teams started off the season with a win, and they'll look to keep the momentum going tonight. The Timberwolves prevailed over the Thunder on Wednesday, 115-108, with their newest member, center Rudy Gobert, leading the way. The Jazz surprisingly knocked off the Nuggets 123-102 behind new acquisitions Collin Sexton and Lauri Markkanen.
Utah Jazz vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Match Details
Fixture: Utah Jazz @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Date & Time: Friday, October 21, 8:00 p.m. EDT
Venue: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Utah Jazz vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Betting Odds
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Utah Jazz vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Key Stats
The Jazz have completely overhauled their roster, as veteran Mike Conley is the only returning starter. Star guard Donovan Mitchell was shipped to the Cleveland Cavaliers & Rudy Gobert was sent to Minnesota, where he'll face the Jazz for the first time in his career. Utah also lost starters Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O'Neale, and it's safe to say that the Jazz will be at or near the bottom of the Western Conference by the end of the year.
Utah won their opener over the Nuggets, with Collin Sexton leading all scorers with 20 points. Markannen chipped in with 17 points, four boards, and four assists, and Mike Conley scored 13 and dished out eight dimes. Despite their weakened roster, the Jazz were lights out from the field, especially from downtown. They converted 16-of-38 three-pointers, and they'd love to shoot this well tonight. Defensively, this team figures to be pretty weak outside of former Timberwolves forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who fouled out in 18 minutes of action.
On paper, Minnesota is much stronger all-around than Utah, but they'll need better performances from Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. Towns, who averaged 24.6 points last year, scored just 12 in the opener on 2-for-10 shooting. Fellow big man Gobert had a great debut, though, finishing with 23 on 10-for-15 from the field, along with 16 rebounds. Look for the core of Towns, Edwards, Gobert, and D'Angelo Russell to carry the scoring load tonight.
The Jazz were consistently one of the best defensive teams in the NBA during three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert's tenure. Now that Gobert is on the Timberwolves look for them to be near the top of major defensive categories due to his interior presence and shot-blocking ability.
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Utah Jazz vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Betting Prediction
The Jazz surprised everyone by beating a rusty Nuggets team, but tonight the Timberwolves' defense should fare much better. Minnesota let OKC hang around in the opener, but tonight they should shoot the ball a lot better and subsequently win and cover tonight versus a much less talented Jazz team.
Prediction: Timberwolves -7.5 (-110)
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