Timberwolves at Warriors: Game #78

Wolves at Warriors
9:30 pm CDT
TNT

A nationally televised game on the road against the best team in the league. This would sound a bit more appealing if the Wolves weren't stumbling toward the finish of another 50+ loss season, but hey, at least we get to see the Warriors, who still have a chance to break the record for most wins in an NBA season.

These teams met a couple weeks ago at Target Center and the Wolves put on a spirited performance but ultimately lost the game at the end as the Warriors just had too many weapons and too much winning experience to overcome. The Wolves did a terrific job on Steph Curry that night, switching everything and keeping him in check, but Draymond Green responded with a huge game and the Warriors were just a little too much.

The Wolves seemed in a much better place then than now. They have lost four of their last five including three in a row, all blah performances against the Clippers, Jazz, and Mavericks. I suspect this has to do both with some natural regression, particularly shooting the ball, from their post-All-Star break hot stretch as well as fading motivation as the season reaches its end. Hopefully playing the Warriors will bring some juice back to the Wolves and they can at least compete tonight.

Golden State actually lost their first home game of the season to the Celtics the other day, though responded with a big win against Portland, and currently sit at 69-8 on the year. Think about that agan. 69 wins. 8 losses. Incredible. They need four wins in their last five games to break the Bulls record of 72, and after this game against the Wolves they play the Spurs and Grizzlies twice each to finish the year. I expect them to do it, as I expect the Spurs to not fully engage as they prepare for the playoffs.

At any rate, I don't have to tell you much about how the Warriors play: Fast, with deadly three point shooting led by the MVP of the league. It will be interesting to see if the Wolves employ the same switching strategy they used in the last game, and if they do whether the Warriors take a different approach.

Andre Iguodala has been out for a while, but is listed as "questionable to return" for this one, and Andrew Bogut is also listed as questionable.

Expected lineups

Warriors

Stephen Curry
Klay Thompson
Harrison Barnes
Draymond Green
Festus Ezeli

Wolves

Ricky Rubio
Zach LaVine
Andrew Wiggins
Gorgui Dieng
Karl-Anthony Towns

Our blogging buddies are over at Golden State Of Mind. Be excellent.

No pics etc.

Enjoy, Chat, Go.