Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Golden State Warriors – NBA, Thursday, January 27, 2022

The Minnesota Timberwolves will face the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center in San Francisco. This will be the third meeting of the season between the Timberwolves and the Warriors. Each team picked up a victory at home.

Golden State is trying to keep pace with the Phoenix Suns for the best record in the Western Conference, while Minnesota is closing in on a spot in the top six.

Both teams have been playing well lately. Which team will keep up their momentum with a win? Let’s check out the odds.

SportsBetting.ag gives us the odds for Thursday night’s matchup.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been moving up the standings, but lately, they haven’t had much success against the spread. Minnesota has only covered in two of their last seven games. They’ve also gone over their point total in five of their previous seven games.

Minnesota enters this matchup fairly healthy. Patrick Beverly is dealing with an ankle injury, but the Timberwolves are hopeful he’ll return for this matchup.

The Warriors aren’t as lucky with their injuries. Draymond Green continues to miss time with a calf injury, while Andre Iguodala missed their last game with a hamstring injury. The silver lining is they do have Klay Thompson back in the lineup.

Minnesota could use a big win to cement their status as playoff contenders. Let’s break down this matchup, starting with Minnesota.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have done a great job jumping back into contention in the Western Conference. They started the month with a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers to drop to 16-20. Since then, the Timberwolves have won eight of their last 11 games.

Minnesota does have some easy wins in that stretch, but they impressed people with victories over the Golden State Warriors and Brooklyn Nets.

What’s been key to the Timberwolves success is their big three. Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, and D’Angelo Russell are averaging over 20 points in January. They’ve led a Timberwolves offense that ranks top 10 in scoring.

Edwards has been the best of the bunch. He is averaging 23.7 points on 40.9 percent three-point shooting. He had one of his best games of the season Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft has been balling this season. He has been the driving force behind their playoff push.

Edwards put together a career performance in the Timberwolves’ first matchup with the Golden State Warriors. He scored 48 points on 7-13 three-point shooting. Minnesota lost that game 123-110.

Ten days ago, the Timberwolves beat the Warriors 119-99. Edwards took a backseat to Towns, who went for 26 points and 11 rebounds. Minnesota also had a big boost from their bench, with Malik Beasley and Jaylen Nowell combining for 33 points.

Minnesota’s defense has been better this season, but they remain a bottom ten unit. They held down the Warriors in their last matchup. It’ll be a lot tougher this time with Stephen Curry in the lineup, but the Timberwolves are up for the task.

We haven’t seen the Golden State Warriors play up to their potential in January. They lost seven games in 2021 but have lost six games this month. Thankfully, it looks like they are back on track with wins over the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks.

A big question everyone is asking is what’s going on with Stephen Curry? Curry was the top MVP candidate through the first three months, but now, people are arguing for why he shouldn’t win MVP. Check out his numbers in January.

It’s no coincidence his poor play has coincided with the Warriors losing streak. They need him to play at a high level because they don’t have another star on his level. Klay Thompson hasn’t done much since returning, and Andrew Wiggins’ numbers are down.

Speaking of Wiggins, he was the driving force behind the Warriors’ victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 10.

Wiggins went off for 35 points on 14-19 field goal shooting. Golden State might need another performance like that, especially if Curry’s struggles continue.

In Golden State’s loss to Minnesota, rookie Jonathan Kuminga was one of their top scorers. Kuminga was a non-factor for the first few months, but he took on a bigger role in January.

Check out his numbers in Tuesday night’s victory over the Mavericks.

That’s the sixth time this month Kuminga has scored over 10 points. For reference, he only hit that mark twice in November and December. Kuminga may very well be the X-factor in Thursday night’s game.

Golden State’s offense has been a big issue in their recent skid, but they broke out with 130 points on Tuesday night. Can they keep it up against Minnesota?

The Golden State Warriors should win this game, but the Minnesota Timberwolves big three can go off at any time. I feel a lot more comfortable betting on the point total.

Golden State’s offense has struggled lately, but their defense remains one of the best in the league. I’m counting on Minnesota’s defense to somewhat limit Stephen Curry and the Golden State offense. I’m thinking about a 112-104 game.

Fans can watch this matchup on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET on TNT. Make sure you check out our NBA picks page for more breakdowns and picks.