Despite the warriors' bench winning the scoring battle (26-25) this was done with six bench members (Andre Iguodala, Kevon Looney, Matt Barnes and Ian Clark) compared to the Timberwolves four bench members (Nemanja Bjelica, Shabazz Muhammad, Tyus Jones and Kris Dunn). The Warriors bench has had many doubters wondering if they will be as productive as last season as many key members (Marreese Speights, Leandro Barbosa, and Festus Ezeli,) were casualties of the cap space cleared for Kevin Durant. These doubts will continue to be questioned until the Warriors' second unit can show they can hang with other elite teams' benches.
The three-point shot continues to be nonexistent for the Warriors
It was another abysmal night for these Golden State Warriors from three-point range, as they shot an abysmal 7-24 (29.2%) from deep. Only four Warriors made a three-point shot on Friday night. Klay Thompson (3), Ian Clark (2), Matt Barnes (1) and Stephen Curry (1). The Durant-less Warriors continue to struggle from the three-point line and with Durant being no certainty to return for the rest of the season these warriors need to find a way to get their three point shot going otherwise it continues to go to be a struggle for these Warriors to score without their number one scoring option.
The Warriors are running out of gas on this road trip
Eight games in eight different cities in 12 days the Warriors' current road trip ends tomorrow against the much anticipated season-opener rematch against the San Antonio Spurs who they are most likely to lose to as Steve Kerr will be resting Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green for this game.
The Warriors are currently 3-4 on this road trip, it has not helped that Kevin Durant sustained an MCL injury due to Zaza Pachulia falling onto him, however, the Warriors are still a good team without Durant and have lost games they are more than capable of winning. However, fatigue has shown in some of these games with a sloppy fourth quarter performance against the Bulls and Celtics have cost the Warriors two costly wins and as such have made the Warriors suffer two back to back losses for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
What's next for these two teams?
For the Warriors, they have a back to back and will play the Spurs Saturday night on ESPN and will be looking to bounce back with a win. For the Timberwolves they also have a back to back and will be looking to carry their momentum against the Milwaukee Bucks in Milwaukee.
