NBA 2021/22 on Friday, 28.01.2022
This big one can’t be missing from our NBA tips, of course. After all, the Golden State Warriors still have a bone to pick with the Minnesota Timberwolves after a recent loss!
And even though the Californians were able to pull off an outstanding win over the Mavs just yesterday, I’m sticking to my guns: In the rematch, the Wolves will win again in the end, because the Warriors don’t get along well with an “offensive team” of this kind on principle!
Something is brewing for the Warriors. The recent return of the long-injured Klay Thompson has clearly elevated the Californians’ game and, except for the Suns, there is no NBA team that currently has a better record than the Yellow and Blue (35-13).
Especially yesterday’s 132-90 dismantling of the Dallas Mavericks, who were by no means weak, made a lot of waves. Klay Thompson was just as convincing as Jordan Poole and Damion Lee.
However, not all that glitters is gold! The Mavs are first and foremost a team that, like the Warriors, thrives on strong defence. It is therefore much easier for Golden State to prevail in a “defensive duel” than to tame an offensively strong squad.
The Timberwolves are one of last season’s losers, but they are on the rise this year – and it is precisely these Timberwolves who can give the Warriors another headache because of their style of play.
The Warriors have lost only one of their last seven NBA games in regulation time. But that was a loss to Minnesota, of all teams, which also came with the largest deficit of the season (99-119).
Incidentally, let’s not forget that the Wolves have scored an average of 120.5 points in their last ten NBA games and are thus excelling on the road! Golden State averaged a comparatively meagre 108.8 points in that period.
Of course, the Warriors’ defence is a lot better for it. After all, no other team in the Western Conference has averaged fewer points (101.6) and allowed a worse opponent shooting% (42.5).
So much for the theory, but as could be seen in practice less than a week ago, the young Timberwolves have not been impressed. Moreover, there are good reasons to expect another underdog victory.
For the Californians, Draymond Green, who averages 7.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists, will be out again. But superstar Stephen Curry also seems to have problems.
Stephen Curry is the pillar of the Warriors’ game, yet there’s no denying he’s currently having trouble sinking three-pointers, which is why he often shortens the gap.
The three-point king did not score more than 19 points in the win over the Mavs – only 2 of his 10 threes found their target! Curry will deliver again, but a performance with 40 points upwards is not to be expected at this point.
On the other hand, Anthony Edwards cracked the 40-point mark yesterday, scoring exactly 40 points in his Timberwolves’ win over the Trail Blazers. With that, the Wolves’ offense presents itself in top form right on cue.
Both old and new bookmakers interested in this game agree on one thing: The Warriors enter the race as the team they think will win in the end, with odds of 1.43 across all providers.
But the sports betting providers were already off the mark a week ago. With that in mind, the Timberwolves’ rematch win odds, currently trading at around 2.90, don’t seem entirely uninteresting…
Conclusion: The Warriors took the Mavs apart yesterday. But this is a duel between two teams that rely primarily on strong defense.
In the game against the Timberwolves, however, the Californians can again expect the dynamic offensive play that they were already unable to cope with less than a week ago in their highest defeat of the season so far.
Green is out, while Curry is currently closing the distance by not hitting his threes. On the flip side, Minnesota just defeated the Trail Blazers with an impressive 40-point performance from Edwards.
My Warriors Timberwolves tip is therefore: The visitors will also win the rematch with their offensive power!
