Takeaways from Warriors' Win Over T-Wolves: Starting Lineup Change Pays Off

The Golden State Warriors (26-21) played suffocating defense en route to a 111-85 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves (27-19) on Sunday at Target Center.

The Warriors had 20 steals, and overall the Wolves had 25 turnovers.

Stephen Curry had a team-high 26 points, seven assists and four steals. Anthony Edwards had a game-high 32 points and 11 rebounds, but he also had eight turnovers.

Here are three takeaways from Sunday's game.

New Starting Lineup Should Be Here to Stay

Steve Kerr gave Quinten Post a long opportunity in the starting lineup, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that he needed to be replaced by Al Horford.

That's what happened Sunday, and it paid dividends.

The Warriors scored 14 of the first 16 points, and by the time reserves entered the game, it was 14-8.

The starting lineup of Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, Draymond Green and Horford started the third quarter as well, extending a one-point lead to a nine-point advantage.

In summary, in about 11 minutes at the beginning of the first and third quarters, the Warriors were plus-14.

That's outstanding, and it's particularly nice considering the Warriors have been one of the worst first-quarter teams in the NBA.

Horford will be out Monday because it's a back end of a back-to-back, so this won't be the starting lineup all the time. But when everyone is healthy, it's right lineup.

The only other change worth considering is including De'Anthony Melton for Podz, but the Warriors need Melton to lead their second unit in the way that Jimmy Butler did when he was healthy. So it makes more sense to have Melton be one of the first Warriors off the bench.

Curry's Buy-In on Defense Sets Tone

Even when Butler was healthy, Curry had one of the biggest offensive loads to carry in the league. It's only going to be tougher moving forward.

So it's understandable—if not expected—that the 37-year-old isn't always totally locked in on the defensive end.

But when he is, it makes a big difference.

On Sunday, Curry had four steals. The first Curry dove on the ball for a loose ball, and that led to a transition Moody three. The second one led to directly to a wide-open Moody layup. The third led to a Podz layup. The fourth led to a Green tip-in.

That's nine points in four possessions.

Curry was often guarding Jaden McDaniels, who is seven inches taller than him. McDaniels had just three points on 1-of-8 shooting.

Ultimately, it was a collective effort, as the Warriors had 20 steals. Podz had four, Will Richard had three, Green had two and Gui Santos had two. But it all started with Curry setting the tone.

Warriors Struggling in GPII Minutes

There's not much to criticize after a blowout win, but it is fair to say that the Gary Payton II minutes aren't working right now.

Payton was a minus-32 against the Mavericks in an eight-point loss. He was a minus-six against the Timberwolves in a 26-point win.

That's alarming.

Payton entered Sunday with the second-worst net rating (minus-9.5) on the team, per Cleaning the Glass.

No one can take away how important Payton was to Golden State's 2022 championship team, but there's not a good argument to play him over other reserves now.

Golden State needs to give as much playing time to Richard and Santos as possible, as they are young enough to develop into better players down the line.