ESPN has the Warriors and Timberwolves as the Late Game
The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors battle on Friday at Oracle Arena. This matchup is hard to figure out tonight. Golden State is playing like, well, Golden State. You throw the Timberwolves and their helter-skelter performances and you have a real Forest Gump Box-of-Chocolates. TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, FS North (Minnesota), NBCS Bay Area (Golden State). LINE: Warriors -11; O/U 243 after opening at 239.5. The Minnesota Timberwolves expect disgruntled superstar Jimmy Butler to suit up on Friday. Hell, they might not need him. The Timberwolves will look for another turn-back-the-clock performance from former MVP Derrick Rose. Butler is still actively seeking a trade out of Minnesota. He sat out to rest on Wednesday and watched Rose explode for a career-high 50 points in a 128-125 win at Utah. The Warriors have several players on the roster capable of scoring 50 points. They are looking like the best team in the NBA again while riding a six-game winning streak. Golden State shooting guard Klay Thompson exploded for an NBA-record 14 3-pointers and 52 points in a 149-124 win at Chicago on Monday. He only needed to hit one 3-pointer and score 18 on Wednesday. Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and company took over in a 131-121 triumph over the New Orleans Pelicans.Expect a Shootout Tonight in Prime Time
The Timberwolves are 4-4 on the season and have shown they can be a force if they can get their cabinet in order. Rose was supposed to be a useful bench piece for Minnesota. This was after a series of injuries knocked him off the peak that led to an MVP Award in 2011. The 30-year-old is still capable of leaving his teammates in awe.“D-Rose is the man,” center Karl-Anthony Towns told reporters. “The legend. Myth. Vintage. It was numbing. I never realized something like that in my life. The man was just out there floating. It seemed like he couldn’t do no wrong.”Rose went 19-of-31 from the floor in 41 minutes on Wednesday. He knocked down four 3-pointers, which was one shy of his total from the first seven games. Golden State is 8-1 on the season and have exploded on offense. Green will rarely be the player leading Golden State in scoring, but his full toolbox of skills was on display Wednesday. He collected 16 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists.
“I thought he was probably the best player on the floor tonight,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters of Green. “I know other guys had some big point totals and all that, but this was not a very clean game for us and when the game gets a little grimy that seems to be when Draymond is at his best. We needed his grit, his rebounding, his defense and he came through in a big way.”Green takes a lot of pride in his work at the defensive end. He told reporters after the win that his goal this season is to win Defensive Player of the Year for the second time. Golden State took six of the last eight meetings. PREDICTION: Warriors 135, Timberwolves 121
NBA Betting Odds & Trends
| Minnesota Timberwolves | ||
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games | ||
| The total has gone OVER in 8 of Minnesota’s last 11 games | ||
| Minnesota is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road | ||
| Minnesota is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road | ||
| The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota’s last 9 games on the road | ||
| Minnesota is 4-19 SU in its last 23 games when playing Golden State | ||
| The total has gone UNDER in 18 of Minnesota’s last 25 games when playing Golden State | ||
| Minnesota is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Golden State | ||
| Minnesota is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Golden State | ||
Golden State Warriors |
||
|---|---|---|
| Golden State is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games | ||
| Golden State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games | ||
| The total has gone OVER in 5 of Golden State’s last 5 games | ||
| Golden State is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home | ||
| Golden State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home | ||
| The total has gone OVER in 4 of Golden State’s last 6 games at home | ||
| Golden State is 4-8-1 ATS in its last 13 games when playing Minnesota | ||
| Golden State is 19-4 SU in its last 23 games when playing Minnesota | ||
| The total has gone UNDER in 18 of Golden State’s last 25 games when playing Minnesota | ||
| Golden State is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Minnesota | ||