Warriors vs Timberwolves Preview: Final Home Game of Regular Season / Fan Night (Photo: AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Golden State Warriors (49-31) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (40-40)
Tip-off: Monday, April 14th, 2014 – 7:30PM PDT
Location: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
Spread: Golden State (-8), meaning Warriors are 8-point favorites
TV: CSN Bay Area / NBA TV | Radio: KNBR 680 AM
Livetweet: @LetsGoWarriors (by @samesfandiari)
Last Game / Streak:
MIN – Lost 106-103 vs SAC in Sacramento, Lost 1 game in a row
GSW – Lost 119-117 vs POR in Portland, Lost 1 game in a row
Previous Matchup:
1/24/2014 – MIN won 121-120 as Harrison Barnes missed a potential game-winning jumper.
Probable Starting Lineups:
Warriors:
PG: Stephen Curry (23.5 PPG, 8.5 APG, 4.2 RPG)
SG: Klay Thompson (18.4 PPG, 2.2 APG, 3.1 RPG)
SF: Andre Iguodala (9.3 PPG, 1.4 APG, 3.9 RPG)
PF: David Lee (18.3 PPG, 2.1 APG, 9.4 RPG)
C: Andrew Bogut (7.5 PPG, 1.6 APG, 10.0 RPG)
HEAD COACH: Mark Jackson (119-109)
Timberwolves:
PG: Ricky Rubio (9.4 ppg, 8.6 apg, 4.2 rpg)
SG: Kevin Martin (18.9 PPG, 1.8 APG, 3.0 RPG)
SF: Corey Brewer (12.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.6 apg)
PF: Kevin Love (26.0 PPG, 4.3 APG, 12.5 RPG)
C: Gorgui Dieng (4.6 PPG, 0.6 APG, 4.9 RPG)
HEAD COACH: Rick Adelman (1042-747)
Andrew Bogut is out indefinitely with a fractured rib.
I’m still quite invested in this Minnesota Timberwolves squad, despite the fact that playoffs are out of the picture, and have been for quite some time now. See, the T-Wolves were one of my teams at the start of the season to go over their projected win total, which was 40.5 games. Minnesota needs just one more win in their last three games, which includes hosting the Utah Jazz in their home and season final.
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There’s no two ways about it, Minnesota has been a disapointment this season, despite possibly going over their expected win total. Just imagine if the Wolves could of closed out their close games a little better and improved on the defensive end a little bit, they would be fighting the likes of Dallas, Memphis and Phoenix for the last two playoff berths. Instead, Minny has to sit tight this offseason and hope and pray they can convince Kevin Love to stay on after next season, which seems really unlikely given all of the factors.
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While there is not much riding on this game for the Timberwolves, playoff seeding if still crucial for the Golden State Warriors, who currently lead the seventh placed Mavericks by just a single game in the standings. Before facing Minnesota tonight, the Warriors have to travel to Portland on Sunday night in what promises to be an entertaining showdown…
From STATS:
Thompson scored 30 points while Curry finished with a season low-tying five as the Warriors won the first meeting with Minnesota 106-93 on Nov. 6.
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They had their seven-game winning streak in the series snapped in the second matchup, though, as Kevin Martin’s jumper in the closing seconds helped trump Curry’s 33 points and 15 assists in the Timberwolves’ 121-120 victory Jan. 24.
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Martin had 26 points in that contest while Kevin Love also scored 26 and added 14 rebounds and eight assists. Love had another solid performance Sunday, scoring 43 points and grabbing 11 boards in a 106-103 loss to Sacramento.
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