One team is bound to bounce back when the Golden State Warriors visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night in Minneapolis.
Golden State is coming off a 51-point loss against the Memphis Grizzlies that marked the team’s third defeat in a row. Minnesota is recovering from a 26-point loss against the New York Knicks in a nationally televised game Thursday night.
Everyone on the Warriors and Timberwolves seems to be frustrated.
Look no further than Timberwolves top scorer Anthony Edwards, who did not hold back with reporters heading into Saturday’s game. He vented to a group of reporters after he and his teammates were upstaged at home by former teammate Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks.
“We don’t have any (offensive) identity,” Edwards said. “We know I’m going to shoot a bunch of shots. We know (Julius) Randle is going to shoot a bunch of shots. That’s all we know. We don’t really know anything else.
“It’s not on the coaches at all. It’s on us. We’re out there playing, but we’ve got to make it easier for each other. Coaches put is in a great position, too, man. We just don’t do it.”
What does Edwards want to see from the offense?
“They’re not going to like what I say, so I’m just going to keep my answers to myself,” “Edwards said.
The Warriors also are searching for answers amid their skid.
Warriors star guard Stephen Curry said he and his teammates wanted to play with urgency, but that there was a difference between urgency and panic, and it was important that the team stayed on the right side of that divide.
“I don’t like the ‘panic’ word,” Curry said. “I like, ‘Accept where you are and try to chance the momentum of the season.’ Panic kind of means you don’t have an answer. I think we do have answers. Obviously (we need) a sense of urgency, for sure.”
Against Memphis, Curry shot an uncharacteristic 0-for-7 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point range. He finished with two points — his previous season low had been 12.
Curry leads Golden State with 22.0 points per game to go along with a team-high 6.4 assists. Andrew Wiggins (17.8 points per game), Jonathan Kuminga (15.3) and Buddy Hield (14.1) round out the top four scorers.
Edwards leads Minnesota with 25.9 points per game. Randle is averaging 20.2 points, and there is a drop-off before Naz Reid at No. 3 with 11.8 ppg.
Rudy Gobert is averaging a double-double for the Timberwolves with 10.3 points and 10.7 rebounds. Gobert will look to recover from one of his toughest games of the season after finishing with three points and four rebounds in 22-plus minutes against New York.
This is the third out of four games between the teams during the regular season. Each of the first two games took place in San Francisco.
Minnesota won the first contest 107-90 on Dec. 6. Edwards led the Timberwolves with 30 points on 11-for-18 shooting, and Curry led the Warriors with 23 points on 6-for-17 shooting.
Golden State responded with a 114-106 win two days later. Curry paced the Warriors once again with 30 points on 8-for-18 shooting while Edwards led Minnesota with 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting.
–Field Level Media
