Warriors fall to No. 27 in ESPN's first-week power rankings ahead of Minnesota trip

Golden State's opening week has cost it eight spots. ESPN's first-week power rankings put the Warriors 27th out of 30, down from 19th in the preseason edition. Only Milwaukee, Brooklyn and whoever sits last rank lower. The panel was looking at a 1-3 record that included a 22-point loss to the Lakers, a three-point home loss to Memphis and a 131-122 defeat in Phoenix.

The one bright spot in ESPN's write-up was rookie wing Yaxel Lendeborg. Anthony Slater noted that Lendeborg is the fourth player since 1986 to put up at least 85 points and 35 rebounds over his first four games. The other three are Shaquille O'Neal, Patrick Ewing and David Robinson. Lendeborg also played the closing minutes of Monday's 134-114 win in Denver while Stephen Curry sat, and Steve Kerr said afterward, "He's going to be a guy who closes games," according to ESPN. That's a lot of trust for a coach to give a rookie four games in, and it changes how the late-game rotation looks for the rest of the season.

The Denver win also showed up in ESPN's entry on the Nuggets. Slater wrote that Nikola Jokic criticized booing home fans again after Golden State, winless until then, beat Denver by 20 on its own floor. The Warriors don't get much time to build on it. The rankings put them in a stretch of four games in six days: at Minnesota, then home against the Lakers, Clippers and Suns. Lendeborg and Luka Doncic meet again Friday, after a public dust-up between them in the opener.

What it means in Minneapolis

The Timberwolves are 3-1 and moved up from fifth to second in ESPN's rankings. The Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball backcourt has carried them. Minnesota's starting lineup outscored opponents by 31 points in 56 minutes, and the team posted a 120.8 offensive rating with the two guards on the floor together. That guard pairing has now been broken up. Edwards will miss up to two months after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, as ESPN's Shams Charania reported Tuesday and the New York Post confirmed via Yahoo Sports. The Post noted he had been listed as questionable for Wednesday's game before the surgery news came out.

Even without Edwards, Minnesota is favored. Novig, one of 12 venues on this site's board for the game, has the Timberwolves at -156 on the moneyline and Golden State at +153. Novig's spread has Minnesota at -4.5 (+108). The best price anywhere on the home side is shorter: BetRivers has the Wolves at -3.5 (-112). So the venues differ by a full point on the margin. The total works the same way. Novig sits at 227.5, with the under at -104, and BetRivers has the best under price at 228.5 (-110). Sportsbook hold runs from roughly 2.4% to 5.2% across the three markets.

That high total makes sense for two teams that have each topped 120 points on the road this season. Golden State scored 134 in Denver and 122 in Phoenix, though it also gave up 131 and 127 in two of its losses. A win at Target Center would get the Warriors to 2-3 before three straight home games. A loss would put them three games under .500 for the first time this season. More on the season is on our Warriors team page.