On Monday night, the Golden State Warriors fielded a heavily depleted team against the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road on the second night of a back-to-back. With Stephen Curry, De'Anthony Melton, Draymond Green, and Al Horford out in addition to Jimmy Butler being on the mend, the burden to carry the team on offense fell on Brandin Podziemski's shoulders.
Podziemski is definitely capable of bringing the ball up and initiating the offense, but he hasn't exactly shown that he's capable of being the first option. And the pressure of having to lead the team may be getting to the young Warriors guard's head.
With less than five minutes left in the first quarter, Podziemski was guilty of not just one, but two ballhandling blunders in a brutal sequence that he at least made up for by drawing the charge on the other end after he finally turned the ball over.
On the first mishap, he lost control of the ball and nearly gave it away with an over and back violation. But after retrieving the ball, he proceeded to mishandle the rock, coughing it up to Naz Reid.
Oh no, Brandin Podziemski 😭pic.twitter.com/5jI58tvLKt
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 27, 2026
The Warriors are currently down by double digits late in the third quarter, and Podziemski hasn't shot the ball well on the night, scoring just eight points on 4-12 shooting from the field.
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Warriors prioritize long-term health on Monday
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30), forward Draymond Green (23), and forward Jimmy Butler III (10) pose for a photo during Media Day at the Chase Center.
Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
The Warriors roster consists of many veterans that must be taken care of, and they certainly did so by holding out some of their heaviest hitters.
Given how Curry-centric the roster is, especially with Butler out, the Warriors were always going to have a difficult time winning their Monday night contest against the Timberwolves. Minnesota wasn't even with Anthony Edwards for tonight's contest, and yet Golden State has sputtered so much offensively that they have stood no chance.