Minnesota at Golden State
Time: 10:30 PM ET, Jan 24, 2014
Spread: GSW -3
M/L: GSW -155; MIN +135
Total: 210
Betting Odds courtesy of Bovada
The Golden State Warriors are currently situated at the sixth spot in the Western Conference, and the team has won eight of its last 10 contests to sit at 26-17. The Warriors will host the No. 11 team in the West, the Minnesota Timberwolves, in a game NBA oddsmakers at Bovada are favoring the home team Golden State by 3-points.
Minnesota has won two straight with back-to-back victories over the worst team in the league, the Utah Jazz. Prior to the two game stand against Utah, however, the T-Wolves had dropped three straight.
Kevin Love earned his first selection as an All-Star starter, and his gaudy stats support the notion: Love has averaged 25 points and 13 rebounds per game and his PER is 27.2. What does not support it is the Timberwolves .500-ish record and inability to crack the Western Conference playoff picture.
At this point, with the Wolves dominating on the interior, but failing to get back on “D,” the team needs to seek to address the issues it has via personnel changes. Pekovic is a good strong NBA center that could flourish on a number of teams, but with Love always pounding the offensive glass, the Wolves need a quick center who can get back in transition. JaVale McGee could be an option, but the Timberwolves can’t expect to win and lose games on the glass.
Defense is far more complex than getting a guard back to stop the ball, and the Timberwolves are consistently giving up big quarters to opponents and 101.6 points per game.
Golden State has made those defensive improvements, and that is what renders the Warriors a fringe contender as opposed to lottery bound like Minnesota. The Warriors aren’t spectacular defensively, but are very good, especially given the fast pace of play. Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala are both superb on-ball defenders, and Andrew Bogut is still a strong anchor for the defense, despite having declined a lot. The Warriors rank 11th in the NBA in points allowed (99.4) and average 103.6 points per game (9th).
Curry also earned his first nod as an All-Star, and he will be starting in the game too. He is averaging 23.5 points and 9.2 assists per game, and Kevin Durant just said that Curry is the best shooter ever to play in the NBA. That’s lofty praise, but not ungrounded.
Curry hit 43.4 percent from three-point range last season while hoisting an average of 6.0 attempts per game. This season, his accuracy is down to 38.3 percent, but he’s taking even more shots, 8.4 threes per game. Curry has taken on a larger role in Golden State’s offense, and it likely could have happened a long time ago had Golden State parted with Monta Ellis. Regardless of that, Curry is still just 25 years old and is becoming the kind of leader Golden State needs while also becoming a fan favorite. The Oracle will keep getting louder.
Minnesota Trends: 0-4 ATS in last 4 vs teams with winning SU records; OVER 4-0 in last 4 when opponent allows 100 or more in previous game; OVER 5-0 in last 5 on 2 days rest.
Golden State Trends: UNDER 5-0 in last 5 vs teams with losing SU records; UNDER 7-1 in last 8 following SU loss; UNDER 6-1 in last 7 home games vs teams with road winning percentages of under .400
Head-to-head: UNDER 5-0 in last 5 meetings in Golden State; Timberwolves 1-6 ATS in last 7 meetings; Timberwolves 1-5 ATS in last 6 meetings in Golden State.
