It’s hard to know exactly where the Warriors and Timberwolves stand right now. The San Francisco squad, fresh off a big win over Houston without Draymond Green or Stephen Curry, is probably racking up better results than actual play. Minnesota, for its part, lacks consistency overall—especially considering that at this point last season they were firmly leading the West. At the moment, they’re on a three-game winning streak, though two of those were basically technical knockouts against a depleted Lakers lineup and a Clippers squad worn down by the NBA’s toughest schedule.
Date and time for Warriors vs Timberwolves
Date: December 6.
Time: These are the start times for Warriors vs Timberwolves by time zone.
| Spain (mainland), France, and Italy | 4:00 |
| Dominican Republic, USA (Boston, New York, and Miami), Puerto Rico, and Venezuela | 23:00 |
| Mexico (Central), El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua | 21:00 |
| Mexico (Pacific) and USA (Los Angeles) | 19:00 |
| Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay | 00:00 |
| Colombia, Ecuador, USA (Chicago and Texas), Peru, and Panama | 21:00 |
Venue: Chase Center (San Francisco, California)
Starting lineups for Warriors vs Timberwolves
Draymond Green and Stephen Curry remain questionable after missing yesterday’s game. No red flags for the Wolves’ lineup.
| Warriors | Timberwolves |
| Stephen Curry* | Mike Conley |
| Brandin Podziemski | Anthony Edwards |
| Andrew Wiggins | Jaden McDaniels |
| Draymond Green | Julius Randle |
| Trayce Jackson-Davis | Rudy Gobert |
*: questionable
Latest on the Warriors: injuries and current form
In addition to the uncertainty surrounding Curry and Green, De’Anthony Melton is out for the entire season.
The Warriors remain a defensive machine. Even without Draymond, their defense shows an immense level of focus that only Nikola Jokic has managed to neutralize in recent games. Brandin Podziemski, Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, and Trayce Jackson-Davis create a strong safety net that keeps the team among the league’s top ten defenses. There’s plenty of activity, interchangeable skill sets, and depth to rotate fresh legs onto the floor.
The main concern, of course, is offensive inconsistency. It’s not that they’ve stopped being efficient, since they have the league’s 12th-best offense. The issue is the game-to-game variability. Golden State isn’t at the same fluid level it showed early in the season, and it shows. Podziemski has taken a step back, Buddy Hield isn’t at the level he showed in the first few weeks, and even Curry isn’t hitting the marks we’re used to seeing in recent years—though the team still leans heavily on him when he’s available.
Player to watch: Jonathan Kuminga
He may be tired after showing off against the Rockets, but Kuminga has earned the spotlight thanks to a career-high scoring performance last night, including a clutch bucket against Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. The forward might not be the kind of offensive star who elevates everyone around him. He’s more of a lone wolf who needs specific isolation sets, especially those top-of-the-key clear-outs Steve Kerr likes to run for him. Kuminga’s contract is up this summer, and he’s been moving in and out of the starting five. Over his last three starts, he’s averaging 23 points on 58% shooting—though that’s inflated by his night against Houston.
Latest on the Timberwolves: injuries and current form
Rob Dillingham and Joe Ingles remain out.
The Clippers didn’t really show up last Wednesday against Minnesota. The Wolves controlled the game from the opening tip against a team that had played 21 games in 35 days and had more back-to-backs than anyone else. So, the evaluation of Minnesota is largely the same as it was before heading to the Intuit Dome.
Only Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid are performing at the expected level. The team as a whole is breaking down by adding an odd fit like Julius Randle and with the obvious dip in Mike Conley’s play. Their role players are nowhere near last season’s standards. Rob Dillingham, who was starting to show some promising things (mainly on offense), has gone down with an injury…
Player to watch: Anthony Edwards
Who else? The Warriors’ perimeter just held Fred VanVleet to 13 points on 5-for-16 shooting, and Jalen Green to 14 on 4-for-16. Edwards will have to bring his A-game. He needs to punish switch-outs against Jackson-Davis, use his physical edge against Podziemski, and hold his own when matched up with Curry, Wiggins, or Kuminga on the other end.
Warriors vs. Timberwolves: head-to-head history
This is their first meeting this season and marks their 131st all-time regular-season showdown. So far, the Warriors hold a clear edge, 74–56, even though Minnesota has won the last four. They have never faced each other in the playoffs.
Predictions for Warriors vs. Timberwolves
The Warriors without Curry. Although it’s still uncertain whether the point guard will play, it’s worth noting Golden State’s solid record without its star. In the five games he’s missed, they’re 4-1, losing only to OKC. They notched two wins over the Rockets and two more against the Pelicans before injuries started piling up.
Some more… Golden State is the league’s second-ranked team in assisted basket percentage, at over 70%. Minnesota stands in the middle of the pack at 63%. The difference is the Warriors are taking exceptional care of the ball given their passing volume, ranking sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio. The Wolves drop to 23rd in that category.
Big momentum swing. The Golden State bench, which opened the season as the best in the league, has nosedived—especially once they lost Melton and then Curry and Green. In their last five games, they rank as the sixth-worst unit. The Timberwolves’ bench situation is the opposite: they started off timid, but during this stretch they’re third-best in the league. Again, they’ve had a pretty favorable schedule.
Where to watch Warriors vs. Timberwolves
The matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota will be available in Spain through an NBA League Pass subscription.
(Cover photo by GD’s Highlights/YouTube)
