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Warriors to test youngsters vs. Timberwolves

Mar 3, 2009 - 11:46 AM Golden State (20-39) at Minnesota (18-41) 8:00 p.m. EST

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- The Golden State Warriors will continue their roster manipulations when they face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.

Coach Don Nelson, in an effort to develop some younger players, has been leaving one veteran on the bench in street clothes per game to leave more minutes for other players.

Jamal Crawford was the first to miss a game, sitting out Friday's loss to the Charlotte Bobcats, and team captain Stephen Jackson was the latest to take a seat, watching as the Warriors dropped a 112-104 decision to the Utah Jazz.

Corey Maggette, Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins are all in line to get a day off as Nelson tests the skills of youngsters like C.J. Watson, Anthony Randolph, Anthony Morrow and Marco Belinelli.

The experiment has not had a positive effect on the team's performance, as Golden State has lost four of its last five games.

The Timberwolves have lost six straight and 11 of 12 - all since losing center Al Jefferson for the season due to a torn ACL. Minnesota got more bad injury news over the weekend when point guard Sebastian Telfair went down with a groin ailment.

The Timberwolves won the first meeting between the teams, 115-108, behind 32 points from Jefferson.