Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves recap

The Golden State Warriors improved to 4-1 tonight against a decent Minnesota Timber-wolves team. It is too early in the season to know how good the T-wolves are, but a double digit victory is a good win. The Warriors played excellent defense holding their 4^th team to under 40% from the field this season. Mark Jackson has officially changed the culture in Oakland to a defense first mentality. The Warriors not only held the T-wolves to 37.8% shooting, but were +16 in points off of turnovers and did a great job of limiting offensive rebounds and second chance points. It was also a great showing for Harrison Barnes as he returned to the Warriors line-up after missing the first 4 games of the season. Barnes recorded 14 points in 14 minutes as he provided a nice spark off the bench tonight.

I was very excited prior to the game for the battle between Ricky Rubio (the 5^th pick in the 2009 draft) and Steph Curry (the 7^th pick in the 2009 draft). Unfortunately, Mark Jackson denied a true head to head match up. Klay Thompson was tasked with guarding Rubio for most of the night. Klay had another solid defensive night and should continue to match up with the opposing team’s best guard for the rest of the season. Steph and Rubio had quiet nights tonight due to an injury and Klay’s solid defense. Klay also stepped up in a big way tonight in the 4^th quarter providing the Warriors with the offensive spark needed for the win. He recorded 19 4^th quarter points netting 5 threes to add to his game high 30.

David Lee was the all-around best player for the Warriors tonight. He did a surprisingly good job guarding Kevin Love (a top 15 player in the NBA). Kevin Love’s stat line may show 25-16-6, but he struggled to finish tonight shooting 40% from the field. Lee was the only consistent scorer for the warriors in the first half finishing with 22 points and 15 boards shooting 62.5% from the field. If Mr. Double-Double can keep this up all season the Warriors should continue score with ease.

A few concerns I have after the game

- Is Andre Iguodala an overrated on ball defender? Hear me out before you attack me for asking the question. I have now watched Evan Turner and Kevin Martin record the best scoring nights for their respective teams with Iguo guarding them for the majority of the game. He did a great job of denying the ball to martin and creating steals on weak side defense in the second half, but there is something to be said for allowing two 20 point scorers with solid shooting percentages back to back games. It will be interesting to keep an eye on the rest of the season

- The offense in the second group is run through Jermaine O’Neal. If this is how the Warriors expect to generate offense with their second group then they are in trouble. Jermaine O’Neal has averaged 6 points over the last 3 years playing a total of 105 NBA games in the span. Any second group that features O’Neal will either be kicking themselves when he gets hurt or when they realize that he is washed up. I don’t know which will come first (oh wait he got hurt tonight. That answers my question.)

-Obviously, the biggest concern after the game is the severity of Steph Curry’s ankle injury. For a few moments I thought I was going to have to fly to Minnesota and personally beat up Ricky Rubio for landing on Curry’s knee/ankle, but Steph did return. He then later left the game and did not return having reinjured his left ankle. I will be praying every night for a speedy recovery. In fact if anyone knows any voodoo or witch craft that would help Steph come back quicker I am all ears.

Now it’s on to San Antonio to play the Spurs who will be the Warriors toughest test of the season.