The Warriors game in Minneapolis against the Timberwolves was postponed from Saturday to Sunday.
The Golden State Warriors experienced their first postponement of the season today as the NBA announced that their game on Saturday afternoon against the Timberwolves would be officially postponed 24 hours later to Sunday afternoon.
The Warriors flew out to Minnesota yesterday after falling to the Mavericks in Dallas on Thursday. Additionally, they were set to stay in Minnesota and play the Timberwolves again on Monday, anyway, so the travel isn't affected by this change.
Why Was The Game Postponed?#
It was a sudden change announced by various insiders, and later the NBA itself, just before noon on the West Coast.
The official NBA Communications stated, "The decision was made to prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community."
The postponement comes after another confrontation involving ICE agents in Minneapolis escalated to a fatal level. ICE has been in Minnesota recently, much to the dismay of many Minnesotans, and things have gotten dangerous multiple times over the past few weeks.
On Saturday morning, another man was shot and killed in a confrontation with federal agents, leading the NBA to rightfully worry for the safety of the Minneapolis community due to this increased tension and heightened protests that are now taking place across the city.
What Does This Mean For The Warriors' Upcoming Schedule?#
With the Warriors and Timberwolves now set to play on Sunday afternoon, it means they'll face off on back-to-back nights. It's certainly not an ideal scenario, especially when considering what caused it, but as far as postponements go, it could be worse.
Pushing the game back one day creates an extra back-to-back, but it doesn't force the Warriors to take extra travel later in the season; it essentially just moves their day of rest from between the two games to the day before.
After this back-to-back, the Warriors will be flying back West to Utah to play the Jazz on Wednesday night before heading back home. At that point, it may become clear what type of team the Warriors will be.
Back-to-back games against the same team often end in a split, especially when the teams are evenly matched, like the Warriors and Timberwolves somewhat are, while the Warriors beat the Jazz twice this season already. If the Warriors can finish this four-game road trip 2-2 in the aftermath of Jimmy Butler's injury, they'll just have to get through a big game against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons at home on Friday before they get three whole days to rest and recover.
The Warriors sit at 25-21, just 2.5 games behind the Timberwolves for the 7th-seed. We'll see if they can close that gap to 1.5 games, or even just half a game, or if the season's downfall will continue.