Following what feels like a too long of a wait for most Golden State Warriors fans, Stephen Curry and the Dubs will be back on the national television stage Friday night, taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves. After dropping three straight games, the Wolves regained some confidence by blowing out the Utah Jazz two games in a row. They will look to extend their brief winning streak against the Warriors, who will be fueled by their recent loss to the Indiana Pacers, and Curry’s recent achievement of making the All-Star game as a starter.
Keys to the game/Players to watch
Off Eff: Warriors: 103.8 (13th) Timberwolves: 105.1 (9th)
Def Eff: Warriors 99.7 (5th) Timberwolves: 102.1 (9th)
Kevin Love vs. David Lee
Both Love and Lee love putting up big numbers, and allocate the majority of their effort on the offensive side of the floor. Last time these two teams met, Lee scored 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Love dropped 25, pulled down 16 rebounds and dished out six assists. As of writing this post, Lee is a game-time decision with a shoulder injury. From what he has been saying, he seems optimistic to play through the pain, and it could obviously affect this matchup, but both guys could put up huge stat lines if Lee plays.
Klay Thompson
Kevin Martin injured his pinky finger but his status is probable and he should play. Last time around, Thompson took advantage of Martin’s poor defense and scored 30 points. He took 21 shots and went 6-9 from beyond the arc. With Martin presumably drawing the assignment again, Thompson will probably be taking a ton of shots on Friday.
Injuries
Timberwolves
Kevin Martin (probable)
Alexey Shved (questionable)
Warriors
Andrew Bogut (questionable)
David Lee (questionable)
Nemanja Nedovic (out)
Jermaine O’Neal (out)
Festus Ezeli (out)
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