The Golden State Warriors are winding down a historic 2014-15 NBA regular season, and a win over the young Minnesota Timberwolves at Oracle Arena on Saturday would be yet another notch in the belt of one of the most dominant teams in league history.
Projected Starting Lineups
Minnesota Timberwolves (16-63)
G Zach LaVine – 9.4 ppg, 3.4 apg
G Kevin Martin – 19.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg
F Andrew Wiggins – 16.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg
F Adreian Payne – 7.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg
C Justin Hamilton – 9.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg
Golden State Warriors (64-15)
G Stephen Curry – 23.9 ppg, 7.8 apg, 4.3 rpg
G Klay Thompson – 21.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg
F Harrison Barnes – 10.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg
F Draymond Green – 11.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg
C Andrew Bogut – 6.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg
What to watch for:
The West's best team tangles with the West's worst
The Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves are a study in contrast. The Warriors have the deepest roster in the NBA by far, sporting All-Star level complementary pieces on the bench such as David Lee and Andre Iguodala. The Timberwolves, on the other hand, have been besieged by injury and have had to accelerate their youth movement while watching their bench get thinner and thinner.
The Wolves may very well put up a fight against a Dubs team with nothing left to play for, but this is as close to a David vs. Goliath matchup as you're gonna get in the NBA.
Prediction: Warriors roll 111-94
Golden State has been in statement mode all season long, turning meaningless contests into blood wars of epic proportions. They won't slow down tonight, as they should easily run Minnesota out of Oracle based on pure talent alone.