Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden State Warriors: Odds, injuries, what to watch for

The Minnesota Timberwolves are on a five-game losing streak and head to the West Coast to face the league’s best team in the second game of a four-game road trip.

Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden State Warriors: Odds, injuries, what to watch for

The Wolves’ previous five games have essentially been a bingo card of methods to lose.

Among those five contests are close, late losses (Denver Nuggets), ugly, low-scoring losses (to the Orlando Magic), nearly wire-to-wire losses (LA Clippers), and late collapse losses (LA Clippers, Part Two).

On Monday, the Wolves again led big in the fourth quarter but ended up getting a deep 3-pointer from Karl-Anthony Towns to send the game to overtime before ultimately losing by seven to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Now, they take on the 9-1 Warriors before heading down the coast to Los Angeles to face the Lakers and Clippers on back-to-back nights later this week.

Minnesota Timberwolves odds at Golden State Warriors

According to WynnBet, the Warriors are favored by seven points over the Wolves in San Francisco on Wednesday night. It’s not a surprise, of course, given the Warriors’ status as the league’s best team with one of the league’s best players in Stephen Curry.

TV and streaming info for Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden State Warriors

• Tip-off: 9:00 CT
• Television: Bally Sports North
• Radio: 830 WCCO
• Stream: Fubo.tv offers streaming options

What to watch for in Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden State Warriors

The Warriors are No. 1 in the NBA in both net rating and point differential. They’re 9-1, and their only stumble was an overtime loss to Memphis. In all of the Warriors’ nine wins, they never finished a game less than three possessions ahead of their opponent.

Golden State is also No. 1 in defensive rating and leads the league in defensive rebounding percentage, gobbling up a whopping 82.9 percent of boards on that end of the floor.

The Wolves’ offense has been so bad (currently sitting No. 25 in offensive rating) that they’ve needed to rely somewhat on second-chance points in order to stay afloat. Those opportunities will be few and far between in this game.

To make matters even more difficult for Minnesota, the Warriors are No. 2 in 3-point attempts per game and No. 1 in long-range percentage, knocking down 38 percent of threes as a team. While the Wolves haven’t necessarily been bad guarding the 3-point line on defense, they are No. 23 in 3-point percentage themselves and will have an uphill climb keeping pace with Curry and the Warriors’ offense.

The key for the Wolves in this one will be to try to keep secondary scorers Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins from having big nights. Curry is going to get his points, but the Wolves need to rebound the ball, limit second-chance opportunities, and get back in transition to keep Poole, Wiggins, and others from getting easy buckets.

Injury report for Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden State Warriors

The Warriors are still without Klay Thompson, who is aiming to return before the end of the calendar year. James Wiseman, last year’s No. 2 overall draft pick, remains out with a knee injury.

The Wolves should be at full strength, presumably only without McKinley Wright IV, who remains with the Iowa Wolves. Nathan Knight, the other two-way player, and Leandro Bolmaro, have both been recalled and will be with the Timberwolves on Wednesday.

We’ll be back after the game with some takeaways. Here’s to 4-6!