Only the Los Angeles Lakers have been worse at covering the spread this season than the Golden State Warriors. As the 2.5-point favorites in last night's outright loss to the San Antonio Spurs, the defending NBA champions fell to 28-40-1 against the betting number.
Mired in a slump, the Dubs have dropped five of their past nine games and gone 4-12 against the spread over their last 16. We've seen Golden State flip the switch when it matters, but come Tuesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, we're not sold that it's time to buy back on the Warriors.
Line: Warriors -6.5
Total: 229.5
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Golden State is in a real tough spot. The team is fresh off a deflating loss in San Antonio and flying north to Minnesota with zero days' rest. The Warriors have been terrible in the second half of back-to-backs this season, going 0-6-1 against the spread in the previous seven situations while getting outscored 117.4 to 114 on average.
Opponent | Spread | Final Result | ATS W/L |
---|---|---|---|
Magic | GSW -4.5 | L 96-103 | Loss |
Trail Blazers | GSW -2 | L 107-129 | Loss |
Pelicans | GSW -7 | W 147-140 | Push |
Clippers | GSW -10.5 | W 129-127 | Loss |
Kings | GSW -6.5 | W 117-116 | Loss |
Spurs | GSW +2 | L 92-104 | Loss |
Hawks | GSW -10.5 | W 110-103 | Loss |
Tuesday's game might initially look like a good opportunity for the Warriors to bounce back, but they're not off the hook here, either. Golden State hasn't covered a spread in its last eight games against sub-.500 teams, going 0-7-1 over that span.
Home and road splits are somewhat noisy in terms of team production, but the Warriors also haven't been as offensively lethal away from Oracle Arena recently. They've gone under their team total in eight of their past nine road games while averaging 111.8 points - roughly six fewer than their season average.
Opponent | Final Score | Warriors Team Total O/U |
---|---|---|
Spurs | SAS 111-105 | Under |
Thunder | GSW 110-88 | Under |
Rockets | GSW 106-104 | Under |
76ers | GSW 120-117 | Under |
Magic | ORL 103-96 | Under |
Heat | MIA 126-125 | Over |
Hornets | GSW 121-110 | Under |
Trail Blazers | POR 129-107 | Under |
Suns | GSW 117-107 | Under |
Golden State plays three more games with zero days' rest following Tuesday's clash with the Timberwolves: March 24 against the Detroit Pistons, April 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and April 10 at the Memphis Grizzlies.
Alex Kolodziej is theScore's betting writer. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 11 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AlexKoIodziej.