Game #53: Golden State V. Minny

How on earth is a team with a negative Ortg/Drtg ratio 9 games above .500? I dont' know either but here are the dirty details:

PTS/G: 101.2 (8th of 30) ▪ Opp PTS/G: 101.4 (25th of 30)
SRS: 0.35 (14th of 30) ▪ Pace: 94.2 (6th of 30)
Off Rtg: 106.4 (12th of 30) ▪ Def Rtg: 106.6 (20th of 30)
Expected W-L: 27-28 (15th of 30)

The Warriors live and die by the three point sword (vjl110's excellent comment on the subject):

The best and worst three-point shooting teams in the league have by far the lowest assisted rate on threes in the league… both rates well below historical assisted rates from three:

3Pnt% %Astd
GSW 39.3 73.5
OKC 39.2 81.4
MIA 38.5 84.4
ATL 38.5 87.2
SAS 38.5 90
NYK 38.1 82.3
NOR 37.3 84.3
DAL 36.5 82.5
HOU 36.5 84.6
DET 36.5 90
UTH 36.5 89.6
CLE 35.5 79.9
SAC 35.4 80.9
LAL 35.3 84.1
MIL 35.3 81
CHI 35.1 79
IND 35.1 84.1
LAC 35.0 86.8
TOR 34.9 81.8
PHI 34.8 83.6
BKN 34.7 82.7
CHA 34.6 83
WAS 34.6 86.3
ORL 34.4 80.5
MEM 34.3 85.2
POR 34.1 78.7
BOS 33.9 89.7
DEN 33.8 81
PHO 32.7 78.4
MIN 29.8 74.2

How the hell is GSW managing to lead the league in three point percentage while taking a higher ratio unassisted than any team in history (not sure on this, but I haven’t seen a team with a lower assisted rate)?

Our Beloved Puppies simply die by the three point sword. They have made their way up above the .300 mark (currently at .303, Warriors are down to #2 at .390) but they still have a legit shot at being the worst three point shooting team in the history of the league. That's something to root for, right? History!

Last year the Charlotte Bobcats shot .295 from the great beyond but they did so on only 13.5 attempts in 66 games. This year's Wolves are doing their damage The Wolves, through 52 games, have already shot 46 more 3s than last year's Bobcats, enough for an 18/game average from beyond the arc. If you account for more than 15 attempts per game, the Wolves are currently the worst three point shooting team in the history of the league...in a league that values the shot more than ever.

Let nobody ever say that the team you love to follow isn't interesting. They're just interesting in interesting ways. Or something.

This will be the 2nd meeting at the Target Center between the two squads this season. The first meeting was a matchup of two 5-4 squads, both with giddy fanbases full of optimism for the new season. The Warriors were 2-15 from beyond the arc in that tilt, while the Wolves, in Josh Howard's first game of the season, were 7-18. In other words, the Wolves took their season average while making them at a Warrior-esque clip, and the Warriors shot at a broken Wolves-esque clip.

Anywho...today's game will probably be decided with the three ball. Unfortunately, the Wolves probably won't get the same results from the great beyond as they did the first time against the Warriors at Target Center.