Ball Scrutiny: 5 Reasons Why Golden State Warriors Dominated Their 2nd Preseason Match Against Timberwolves

After a shameful loss in their first game against Minnesota, the Golden State Warriors awakened their true spirit, thrashed the wolves in their second preseason match up 142-110.

Splash Brothers with a Tsunami

Klay Thompson and Steph with a huge domination from beyond the arc – Warriors’ main weapon. Klay Thompson shot 80% from the rainbow country with 28 points, Steph Curry with a monstrous 40- point explosion, shooting 66 % from the 3 point area. Thompson and Curry shot 14 three-pointers combined, which doubled up the whole Timberwolves 3 point shooting.

High Scoring Ball Game

The first quarter ended, 41-36. A high scoring ball game equals a high-paced ball game which is very evident that the game is going on the Warrior’s run and gun style of play.

Impeccable Play Execution

No matter how they throw in the ball, the hoop just seems to suck it down.  It’s just because of the incredible Warrior’s passing style plus the every player really connects with the hoop everytime they take a shot.

Inside Control

Warriors limited the Minnesota in Offensive Rebounding to just 6, thus limiting their extra possession and 2nd chance points.

The warriors, known as outside gunners yet managed to neutralize the inside,  they even had a 2 point advantage in terms of points in the shaded area. It leaves no room for Minnesota to start a sizzle as the Warriors are ferocious inside and outside.

Every Drop Counts

The Golden State Warriors shot 80% of their free throws (20-25) which is far well than the first game when they missed 12.

Watch GSW vs Timberwolves game Highlights

(video courtesy of Rapid Highlights)

Main Weapon Unarmed: Warriors shall Dominate the Rainbow Country

Poor three-point shooting equals a loss for the defending champs

Warriors are in full control in the opening bout, racking up a double-digit deficit 21-11 against the ferocious Timberwolves. Draymond Green unleashes a Zaza Pachulia, followed by a monster block on the defensive end to wind up Steph Curry’s long ball from way 29 feet out. It was Green who bombed the guest team wolves with his magic passes for the big Pachulia to punish the rim. The Splash brothers both connecting from the rainbow country. Warriors up by 12 points in the first 12 minutes of action, 32-20

That was the Warrior power only in the 1st quarter when they faced the Timberwolves which gave them a shameful loss in their own land. As the remaining quarters passed, the Timberwolves managed to eat up the massive lead and cracked open their own lead to finish the warriors at 111-95.

Ironically, the winning dagger for Minnesota was the Warriors’ primary weapon – outside shooting which came to be a double backfire for the champs as they fail to deliver consistently from beyond the arc, on the other hand, the Timberwolves drilled the basket thrice, approaching the last minute of the 4th. Warriors only shot a shocking 28.6% from the 3 point area which spelled the huge difference as compared to Timberwolves’ 46.2%. 

Naturally, if there is dormancy from the outside, the offense will be more focused inside the shaded area but still, it didn’t work so well for the Warriors, being outscored by Wolves 40-34. Frequent misses from the outside would ultimately trigger the rebound battle, Minnesota dominated the offensive boards 15 – 8.

There is no room for the Warriors to overthrow Minnesota in that form. They need to tighten their game from the shaded area to score and get more ball possession if their outside gunners fail to deliver.