Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden State Warriors: Odds, injuries, what to watch for
By Ben Beecken
The Minnesota Timberwolves have a chance to build on a win last time out with a two-game series at Golden State that kicks off Monday night.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are in the Bay Area to take on Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Monday and Wednesday night in a pair of nationally-televised games.
The Wolves are coming off a 10-point Saturday victory over the New Orleans Pelicans despite D’Angelo Russell‘s absence due to a planned rest day. The win came just 24 hours after an ugly loss to the Atlanta Hawks, and only days after the Wolves gave up a 20-point second-half lead in a home loss to the Orlando Magic.
For their part, the Warriors have lost two consecutive games, getting blown out at home by the New York Knicks and losing on the road to the Utah Jazz.
Outside of the season-ending injuries suffered by Klay Thompson and Marquese Chriss, the Warriors are relatively healthy. The Wolves will once again be without Karl-Anthony Towns and Juancho Hernangomez.
Minnesota Timberwolves odds at Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are favored by 8.5 points at home over the Wolves, according to The Action Network. It’s hard to argue with this line; even with their recent issues the Warriors are 8-8 on the season and will have the only superstar on the court in this one.
TV and streaming info for Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden State Warriors
- Television: Fox Sports North, NBA TV (out-of-market)
- Radio: 830 WCCO
- Stream: Fubo.tv offers streaming options
What to watch for in Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden State Warriors
These Warriors actually aren’t a terrible matchup for the Wolves. Of course, it would be a lot more promising of a matchup if Towns was available, but this Golden State team is mostly Curry, plus whatever old friend Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre can bring to the table.
Curry is launching more than 11 3-point attempts per game and hitting on a 37.9 percent clip, yet he’s still getting to the free throw line nearly six times a game and shooting 92.6 percent on freebies. Unsurprisingly, his usage rate is higher than any full season in his career.
Wiggins is making a career-best 40.7 percent of his 3-pointers; the 33.2 percent career 3-point shooter will come back to earth eventually, but he’s easily the Warriors’ second option on offense at this point.
Oubre has struggled mightily with his shot and Draymond Green isn’t a scoring threat, although he can pick teams apart if defenses give him passing lanes.
The Warriors have committed the second-most personal fouls per game of any team and allow opponents to attempt the most free throws per game, so the Wolves need to stay aggressive in the paint. Ricky Rubio, Jordan McLaughlin, and Anthony Edwards are candidates to lead a parade to the free throw line for Minnesota in the absence of Towns.
If the Wolves are going to win, they’ll need to force the non-Curry Warriors into tough shooting nights, hold their own on the glass, and get to the charity stripe with regularity.
Injury report for Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden State Warriors
The Wolves are still without Towns and Hernangomez. Russell is listed as questionable with a quad contusion, while Josh Okogie has been removed from the injury report for the first time since he injured his hamstring roughly a month ago.
The Warriors are only missing Thompson and Chriss, both of whom are out for the season.
Next. 3 things the Wolves actually do well (kind of). dark
Be sure to check back after the game for player grades. Enjoy late-night, West Coast basketball!