Golden State Warriors (3-1) at Minnesota Timberwolves (3-1)
Tipoff: Wednesday. 11/6/2013, 5:00 PM PDT
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV: CSNBA | Radio: KNBR 680 AM
LiveTweet: @LetsGoWarriors (by @GSWdelivery)
Three games, four days, and soon we could know just how good the Golden State Warriors are this season. They visit the 3-1 Minnesota Timberwolves tonight, then travel to play both of last season’s Western Conference finalists, the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies back-t0-back on Friday and Saturday night.
It’s a heck of an opening road trip for the Warriors, who have already knocked off the previously undefeated Philadelphia 76ers, in a 110-90 blowout Monday night. In fact, the Warriors have taken each of their first three wins by double-digit margins of victory. They beat the Los Angeles Lakers by 31 in the home opener, and then beat the Sacramento Kings by 11 last Saturday.
Despite the commanding start, the Warriors schedule figures to get much tougher. Just one of their first four opponents was expected to be contenders this season, and the Warriors suffered a double digit loss of their own that night, 126-115, to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Timberwolves, a lottery team last season, have Kevin Love back to start the season, and have already put together a couple impressive wins, a blowout victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder and a road win against the New York Knicks.
Love’s averaging better than 26 points and 14 rebounds a game, and has already stolen NBA headlines with the impact of his return. The Timberwolves look every bit the part of a playoff team. Like the Warriors, they have a plethora of offensive weapons, and the addition of Kevin Martin during the off-season already looks like a genius move. He’s averaging 21.3 points per game through 4 games and has hit 12-20 from the 3-point line.
Further more, the the combination of Ricky Rubio and Corey Brewer on the perimeter have given the Timberwolves elite length and athleticism defensively. The two are combining for more than 6 steals a game through 4 games, and Minnesota is forcing the 2nd-most turnovers per game.
The Timberwolves are similar to the Warriors of last season, in that they’re a team coming off a couple of injuries, trying to prove they belong in the playoff picture. Tonight’s game should be a good test for the Warriors, who have yet to play a close game this season.
The Warriors prize, should they win, are two more tough contests in San Antonio and Memphis later in the week.
As pointed out by Marcus Thompson, the key to a successful road trip could be how David Lee matches up with some of the better power forwards in the Western Conference: Love, Tim Duncan, and Zach Randolph.
Andrew Bogut will likely defend Duncan, but it’s important that Lee match the production of the opposing All-Stars at his position. Lee is the player the Warriors will pay the most money to over the next three seasons, but it’s regularly questioned whether or not he’s an elite power forward.
If he can match up evenly with the likes of Love, Duncan, and Randolph, the key being doing so on both ends of the floor, the Warriors are strong candidates to take their success to the next level. If the Warriors continue to get out-played down low by the league’s best, then maybe it’s time for the team to transition over to more small-ball lineups.
Game Notes:
Harrison Barnes has returned to the practice court, but is a game-time decision for tonight’s game.
The Warriors went 4-0 against the T-Wolves last season
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