Celtics vs Timberwolves Game Breakdown

Get ready to rumble at the Target Center tonight as the high-flying Boston Celtics swoop into the den of the Minnesota Timberwolves for a first-round playoff clash that promises to break the mold of recent blowouts. With the Celtics gliding in on the wings of a dominant last game and the Timberwolves hungry to rebound from a New Year’s Eve stumble, tonight’s matchup at 08:30 PM EST is where the rubber meets the road. The stakes? Just a tiny matter of playoff survival in a game pegged with an over/under that’s got bettors buzzing and lines that lean just a tad in favor of our visitors from the East. So, as the Celtics try to plant their flag and the Timberwolves aim to howl back, let’s see if Boston can keep their garden green or if Minnesota turns this into a true timber showdown!

Game Breakdown

Game Time: January 02, 2025 08:30PM EST

Location: Target Center, Minnesota

Vegas Odds

	BOS ML	MIN ML	Over/Under	Line
Open	-160	+135	220.0	-3.5/3.5
Recent	-170	+145	219.0	-4.0/4.0
Difference	-10	+10	-1.0	–

Team Performance

LAST 10

6W-4L

AWAY

35W-16L

63.0% Win Probability

LAST 10

6W-4L

HOME

37W-15L

37.0% Win Probability

Previous Matchups

Date		Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	OT	Final	O/U
11/24/24	Minnesota Timberwolves MIN	27	25	21	32	00	105	Under
11/24/24	Boston Celtics BOS	24	31	29	23	00	107	Under
01/10/24	Minnesota Timberwolves MIN	27	26	32	26	90	120	Over
01/10/24	Boston Celtics BOS	32	22	25	32	160	127	Over
11/06/23	Boston Celtics BOS	26	29	19	27	80	109	Over
11/06/23	Minnesota Timberwolves MIN	29	23	27	22	130	114	Over
03/15/23	Boston Celtics BOS	23	21	33	27	00	104	Under
03/15/23	Minnesota Timberwolves MIN	23	20	28	31	00	102	Under
12/23/22	Minnesota Timberwolves MIN	29	27	30	23	00	109	Over
12/23/22	Boston Celtics BOS	22	32	34	33	00	121	Over
03/27/22	Minnesota Timberwolves MIN	30	19	31	32	00	112	Over
03/27/22	Boston Celtics BOS	34	38	34	28	00	134	Over
12/27/21	Boston Celtics BOS	29	27	23	24	00	103	Under
12/27/21	Minnesota Timberwolves MIN	23	22	29	34	00	108	Under

Celtics Vs Over/Under

Timberwolves Vs Over/Under

Celtics Recent Games

Date	vsOpp	Result	Reb	Ast	Tov	Shots
12/31	@ TOR	125-71W	49	29	13	87
12/29	@ IND	114-123L	41	26	8	93
12/27	@ IND	142-105W	52	31	10	92
12/25	@ PHI	114-118L	51	24	13	95
12/21	vs CHI	123-98W	59	27	12	100
12/19	@ CHI	108-117L	45	21	4	97
12/15	vs WAS	112-98W	56	26	18	93
12/12	@ DET	123-99W	51	34	14	90
12/07	@ MEM	121-127L	51	26	13	105
12/06	@ MIL	111-105W	41	27	6	87

Timberwolves Recent Games

Date	vsOpp	Result	Reb	Ast	Tov	Shots
12/31	vs OKL	105-113L	43	21	23	79
12/29	@ SAS	112-110W	56	23	10	100
12/27	vs HOU	113-112W	39	25	14	83
12/25	vs DAL	105-99W	46	23	10	86
12/21	@ GSW	103-113L	45	27	15	86
12/19	@ NYK	107-133L	37	29	13	89
12/15	vs SAS	106-92W	51	26	12	100
12/13	@ LAL	97-87W	48	18	13	87
12/08	vs GSW	106-114L	39	22	14	79
12/06	vs GSW	107-90W	48	32	17	88

Starting Lineups

Boston Celtics	Proj	L5	L15	S%	S/DFS
Jaylen Brown SF	38.0	43.9	41.4	100%	41.7
Jrue Holiday SG	23.0	22.7	27.4	100%	27.9
Kristaps Porzingis C	32.0	30.4	36.3	100%	36.6
Jayson Tatum PF	47.0	56.5	53.1	100%	53.5
Derrick White PG	31.0	27.4	34.4	100%	34.7

Minnesota Timberwolves	Proj	L5	L15	S%	S/DFS
Mike Conley PG	21.0	17.6	22.7	100%	23.1
Anthony Edwards SG	45.0	37.9	43.0	100%	43.3
Rudy Gobert C	32.0	31.6	30.3	100%	30.6
Jaden McDaniels SF	25.0	20.6	22.6	100%	22.9
Julius Randle PF	37.0	37.1	36.0	100%	35.3

Celtics Notable Injuries

Xavier Tillman (PF/C): Avg: 3.9pts, 3.2reb, 1.1ast, 15.1 minutes. Last game: 12/31/24. Impact: 0.6
Drew Peterson (PF): Avg: 3.5pts, 2.0reb, 0.6ast, 10.5 minutes. Last game: 12/31/24. Impact: 1.4
Jaden Springer (SG/SF): Avg: 2.8pts, 1.4reb, 0.8ast, 8.8 minutes. Last game: 12/31/24. Impact: 0.6

Timberwolves Notable Injuries

Rob Dillingham (PG): Avg: 4.6pts, 0.9reb, 1.8ast, 9.9 minutes. Last game: 12/19/24. Impact: 1.8
Luka Garza (C): Avg: 4.0pts, 1.1reb, 0.2ast, 4.8 minutes. Last game: 12/19/24. Impact: 1.1
Terrence Shannon Jr. (SG/SF): Avg: 1.9pts, 0.3reb, 0.7ast, 5.0 minutes. Last game: 12/19/24. Impact: 0.6

Top Player Props

This article, published more than 6 hours prior to game time, focuses exclusively on Over prop bets due to the propensity for NBA teams to make last-minute injury adjustments. For the most current prop bets, including any updates closer to tip-off, please refer to the link provided below the table.

		Stat				Over %				Opposing Defense/Game
Player	Team	Prop	Line	Proj	Diff	L5	L10	L15	L30	Opp	Stat	Rank
Donte DiVincenzo	MIN	Pts	11.5	15.3	+3.8	60%	40%	27%	27%	BOS	-1.5	#6
Jaden McDaniels	MIN	Pts	9.5	12.4	+2.9	40%	50%	53%	53%	BOS	-1.3	#7
Julius Randle	MIN	Reb	6.5	7.2	+0.7	60%	50%	40%	40%	BOS	-0.6	#9
Naz Reid	MIN	Reb	4.5	5.1	+0.6	20%	50%	53%	53%	BOS	-0.6	#9
Anthony Edwards	MIN	Ast	4.5	4.9	+0.4	40%	50%	40%	40%	BOS	-0.4	#9
Payton Pritchard	BOS	Ast	3.5	3.9	+0.4	60%	50%	53%	53%	MIN	-0.4	#12

View All Player Prop Projections

Celtics Defense vs

Position	Pts	Reb	Ast	Overall	vs NBA
C	#22	#14	#4	#7	-6.7%
PF	#7	#9	#10	#4	-8.1%
PG	#7	#25	#19	#13	-1.6%
SF	#16	#29	#9	#18	1.4%
SG	#6	#18	#9	#5	-7.2%

Timberwolves Defense vs

Position	Pts	Reb	Ast	Overall	vs NBA
C	#17	#5	#14	#18	1.2%
PF	#1	#5	#12	#1	-15.0%
PG	#11	#27	#12	#17	1.7%
SF	#7	#5	#2	#5	-9.4%
SG	#8	#17	#4	#7	-6.2%

Team Comparison

Points per Game

119.0

108.9

Rebounds per Game

46.3

44.2

Assists per Game

26.8

24.5

Steals per Game

7.1

8.9

Blocks per Game

5.9

4.7

Shots per Game

91.4

87.4

3-Pointers Made per Game

18.8

14.6

2-Pt Percentage per Game

57.7

52.7

3-Pt Percentage per Game

36.9

36.7

Turnovers per Game

11.4

14.8

Fouls per Game

16.5

18.2

Recent Trends

Rob Dillingham (PG): 3 Game Minutes avg dropped 32.6% to 11.2, 16.6 min average previous 3 games.
Donte DiVincenzo (PG/SG): 3 Game Minutes avg jumped 32.2% to 33.4, 25.2 min average previous 3 games.