OPEN THREAD: Game 39 - Warriors @ Timberwolves

Originally posted Tue Jan 15, 2008 at 10:45:39 AM PDT

Warriors (W-L): 22-16
Timberwolves (W-L): 5-31
Time: 5:00pm PST
TV: FSN Bay Area
Radio: KNBR 680

I love looking at statistics.  

No, I'm not a numbers guy.  In fact, I don't quite understand the PER and +/- business that people are using now as objective judgment of a player's worth (though I still find them helpful and intriguing time to time).  But in my spare time sometimes, I end up checking out players' career stats.  As a kid, I used to cut out the standings from the San Jose Mercury and save them to chart the Warriors status, daily.   There was something about the win to loss percentage/ratio that I liked and I'm not sure why.  

Well, in my usual fashion, I know that the Warriors winning percentage is .579 as they near the halfway point of the season.  They've, according to my records, been unable to pass this mark and move into the .600 range that most 2nd tier playoff teams are situated at (unless your in the East, which .579 means your in the top 3).  

Perhaps this road trip will be the time when the Warriors -- statistically speaking -- become a 2nd tier playoff team!

The Warriors take on the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight.  Is it me or are we always playing them?  Anyway, patterns show that the Warriors usually lose after winning two games in a row.  And even though they play the T-Wolves tonight, that doesn't seem to give me confidence that the Warriors will make it into the statistical promised land of the .600 teams.  Since the beginning of December, the Warriors have been unable to put together a winning streak longer than 2 games.  And on several of those occasions, the Warriors have lost miserably following a great team effort (getting blow out by Dallas after dismantling Houston on January 2nd and then being blown out by Portland after surviving a OT win over San Antonio).

Monta Ellis loves playing the T-Wolves if his stats are any indication (29 points a game versus them).  But Rashad McCants loves playing the Warriors and so does Al Jefferson apparently.  Though Monta and Baron had their way with the T-Wolves undersized guards (poor Bassy), Jefferson looked nearly unstoppable -- offensively -- against the Warriors nearly non-existent interior.  You know, I would like to see more Austin Croshere this game.  He's got the muscle to bang on the inside, can hit some threes, and looks good on his way to the basket (but not necessarily at the basket when he bricked a few contested layups).  Troy Murphy wishes he could be his caliber if he just had more foot speed (and muscles).  But I digress.  Depending on the matchups, Croshere seems like be able to contain some of the more muscular big men in this league, with the possibility of shooting the three like the rest of the team (as we've seen him too).  

Predictions:

* Warriors by -7
* KBLX scores 6 points and 3 assists
* Brandan Wright vs. Corey Brewer is the PREMIER matchup for tonight!
* Rashad McCants ... SHUT DOWN!  But Gerald Green plays like its his last year/game in the league.

What are your predictions?  Drop your predictions and comments before and during the game!

Also, if you haven't seen it already, check out Pree's excellent interview with Mr. Croshere himself!