Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images. Pictured: Stephen Curry.
Timberwolves vs. Warriors Odds
| Timberwolves Odds | +8 |
| Warriors Odds | -8 |
| Moneyline | +285 / -355 |
| Over/Under | N/A |
| Time | 10 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN |
| Odds as of Tuesday at 11 p.m. ET and via FanDuel. | |
The Minnesota Timberwolves will hope Wednesday’s matchup with the Golden State Warriors goes much differently than last time.
In the Warriors’ 130-108 blowout win on Monday night, Minnesota looked helpless on both sides of the court. Whether the Timberwolves can bounce back will rest on the shoulders of their backups since Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell are likely to miss again.
On the other side, each Warriors game shows their offense’s reliance on the play of Stephen Curry. His shooting prowess forces teams to focus their defense on him so much the court opens for the rest of the team. On Monday, Andrew Wiggins took advantage against his former team, scoring 23 points, his second-most of the year.
If Curry can get going, the short-handed Timberwolves will lack the talent to keep up.
With injuries depleting Minnesota, Golden State opened as a big favorite for Wednesday night’s game. Let’s see if they have what it takes to cover.
Minnesota Timberwolves
After landing the top pick in last year’s draft, Minnesota is heading in that direction yet again.
Struggling on both sides of the ball, Minnesota’s 104.9 Offensive Rating and 114.3 Defensive Rating both rank in the bottom five of the NBA per Basketball Reference. These struggles have led to an ugly 12 losses in their past 14 games. Hope sits on the horizon with Towns’ eventual return from COVID-19. Unfortunately, that’s more than likely to happen this weekend.
One player who has been able to stand out despite the team’s deficiencies is Malik Beasley. Beasley joined the Timberwolves last season in a trade with the Denver Nuggets and displayed his scoring talent since the moment he arrived. Since the trade, Beasley averages 20.1 points per game and while shooting an excellent 40.1% from 3-point range.
Beasley’s talent was on display on Monday night with 30 points on 10 of 18 shooting. However, the rest of the Timberwolves couldn’t get anything going, shooting 38.2% from the field. With Minnesota’s inability to guard opposing guards, its offense will need to play much better if it wants this game to be different from Monday night.
Golden State Warriors
After losing to the Knicks and Jazz each by at least 15, the Warriors needed a big win to turn things around. Their performance on Monday did just that — their 46.7% 3-point shooting was their best since Jan. 8.
While it sits at 9-8, Golden State’s Net Rating of -2.0 shows it might be fortunate to be at that mark. However, the Warriors have played the second-hardest schedule to date, per ESPN. Only one of their losses have come against a team with a record currently under .500.
Wiggins may benefit the most from a softer schedule. He currently averages 17.8 points per game and only has four games of 20 or more points this season.
Last season being cut short for the Warriors and a brief training camp prevented Wiggins from developing chemistry with Curry. In matchups like this, in which Golden State is heavily favored, head coach Steve Kerr will likely experiment involving his second-best player more. If Wiggins can provide more performances like Monday night, he’ll prove he can serve as the Warriors’ reliable second option this season without Klay Thompson.
Timberwolves-Warriors Pick
Minnesota needs to do a much better job slowing down Curry if it hopes to pull out a win. Unfortunately, the Timberwolves have shown no ability to stop opposing guards. This means a shootout will be how they look to pull out the victory. While Beasley did his best to make that happen Monday night, we saw Minnesota may not have the firepower needed.
After their big victory on Monday night, Golden State will come in with an extra boost of confidence. The Warriors’ third-fastest pace of play of 104.0 will have them attacking early and often. In their first matchup, Minnesota playing shorthanded and the Warriors’ pace led to an 11-point first-quarter lead. A similar story could be on the horizon in this game.
The Warriors record may only be a shade over .500 but when they win do it convincingly. In their nine wins, Golden States’ average win margin is 12.7 points.
Back the Warriors to repeat their Monday night success and cover.
Pick: Warriors -8 (if Russell and Towns are out)
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