What we learned as Warriors miss Steph Curry in Game 2 loss to Timberwolves originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
MINNEAPOLIS – The Warriors’ first playoff game without Steph Curry since the 2018 Western Conference semifinals was too big of an obstacle to overcome, losing 117-93 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night at the Target Center in Game 2 of Round 2.
There was no way the Timberwolves were going to brick as many threes as they did to open the series. They missed their first 16 threes in the Warriors’ Game 1 win, and then made threes on their first two possessions of Game 2. The Warriors were outscored by 21 points from deep, going 9 of 32 overall compared to the Timberwolves going 16 of 37.
Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards looked like he had a horrible injury when he had to be helped off the court in the second quarter and couldn’t put any weight on his left leg. But Edwards somehow returned to begin the third quarter and was a plus-21, scoring 20 points and adding nine rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Jimmy Butler, without Curry, put up 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and was a minus-4. Draymond Green picked up another technical foul and was a minus-3 with nine points on 3-of-10 shooting and 1 of 6 on threes, four rebounds and five assists. It was two bench players who provided a punch for Golden State.
Jonathan Kuminga tied his playoff career high of 18 points in 26 minutes off the bench. Trayce Jackson-Davis got up for multiple dunks, making all six of his shots for 15 points.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ tough Game 2 loss:
Slow Start For First Five
Through nine playoff games, the Warriors now have used five different starting lineups. Kerr decided to give the nod to rookie center Quinten Post, adding size and 3-point shooting to begin the game. A minute and a half later, Kerr was forced to call a timeout after an easy 8-0 run from the Timberwolves to begin the game.
The Warriors trailed 12-0 when Kerr made his first substitution, bringing Gary Payton II and Moses Moody in for Post and Buddy Hield. A Julius Randle free throw pushed the lead to 13-0. Finally, after missing their first eight shots, a Butler three snapped the Warriors’ scoring drought more than seven minutes into the game, making it 13-3.
After the first quarter, the Warriors trailed 29-15. They made six shots and had five turnovers that resulted in seven points for the Timberwolves, with the deficit being as much as 18 at one point.
Post started Game 3 of the Warriors’ win last round and was a plus-7 in 27-plus minutes with just two points but 12 rebounds. He didn’t start the second half, and only played the first three minutes of the game. The starting five’s lone stint together was the first three-plus minutes of the night when they were outscored 13-0.
This unit had only played five minutes together in the playoffs prior to Game 2, and had a lot of success in such a small sample. In 11 regular-season games, 42 minutes, they had a 34.2 net rating with a 124.4 offensive rating and 90.2 defensive rating.
Playing It Smart
Searching for any kind of help, Kerr used 11 players in the first quarter, giving minutes to Kuminga, Pat Spencer and Gui Santos. Within the first two minutes of the second quarter, that number grew to 13 as Kevin Knox came in and then Jackson-Davis. The Warriors were down 31-17 at the 10:18 mark of the second quarter when Jackson-Davis entered the game.
Every active, healthy Warriors player saw action in the first half when Braxton Key played the final 5.7 seconds.
Part of the decision to use so many players certainly had to do with how much changes from Curry’s injury. The bigger picture was preserving Green and Butler. The two 35-year-olds barely had a break between Sunday’s Game 7 in Houston and Tuesday’s Game 1 in Minnesota. Butler, between those two games, played 86 minutes, and Green played nearly 75.
Butler was at 17 minutes going into halftime, and Green was at 15. The former finished at 34 minutes, and the latter played 29.
Calling On Kuminga
Between badly needing points from someone and essentially having to give him a longer leash, this was a game meant for Kuminga. His first stint wasn’t pretty. Kuminga was out-hustled by Donte DiVincenzo for an offensive rebound, missed two free throws and had a bad pass that was a turnover from an unnecessary jump.
The next time Kerr called his number, Kuminga was much better and was the Warriors’ leading scorer through the first half with 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting. Kerr rewarded him by starting Kuminga over Post to begin the second half, and he exploded for two big dunks in the first few minutes.
Kuminga made his first three shots of the second half, bringing him to 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting, before missing a turnaround jumper in the final two minutes of the third quarter. His perfect 8 of 8 start was followed by three misses to end his otherwise strong night.
On a night that didn’t have a ton of positives, Kuminga’s play was at the top of the list for the Warriors. He was under control most of the time and used his athleticism to his advantage. With Curry out, the Warriors will need Kuminga’s ability to score.
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What we learned as Warriors miss Steph Curry in Game 2 loss to Timberwolves
MINNEAPOLIS – The Warriors’ first playoff game without Steph Curry since the 2018 Western Conference semifinals was too big of an obstacle to overcome, losing 117-93 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night at the Target Center in Game 2 of Round 2.
There was no way the Timberwolves were going to brick as many threes as they did to open the series. They missed their first 16 threes in the Warriors’ Game 1 win, and then made threes on their first two possessions of Game 2. The Warriors were outscored by 21 points from deep, going 9 of 32 overall compared to the Timberwolves going 16 of 37.
SIGN UP HERE Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards looked like he had a horrible injury when he had to be helped off the court in the second quarter and couldn’t put any weight on his left leg. But Edwards somehow returned to begin the third quarter and was a plus-21, scoring 20 points and adding nine rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Jimmy Butler, without Curry, put up 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and was a minus-4. Draymond Green picked up another technical foul and was a minus-3 with nine points on 3-of-10 shooting and 1 of 6 on threes, four rebounds and five assists. It was two bench players who provided a punch for Golden State.
Jonathan Kuminga tied his playoff career high of 18 points in 26 minutes off the bench. Trayce Jackson-Davis got up for multiple dunks, making all six of his shots for 15 points.
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Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ tough Game 2 loss:
Slow Start For First Five
Through nine playoff games, the Warriors now have used five different starting lineups. Kerr decided to give the nod to rookie center Quinten Post, adding size and 3-point shooting to begin the game. A minute and a half later, Kerr was forced to call a timeout after an easy 8-0 run from the Timberwolves to begin the game.
The Warriors trailed 12-0 when Kerr made his first substitution, bringing Gary Payton II and Moses Moody in for Post and Buddy Hield. A Julius Randle free throw pushed the lead to 13-0. Finally, after missing their first eight shots, a Butler three snapped the Warriors’ scoring drought more than seven minutes into the game, making it 13-3.
After the first quarter, the Warriors trailed 29-15. They made six shots and had five turnovers that resulted in seven points for the Timberwolves, with the deficit being as much as 18 at one point.
Post started Game 3 of the Warriors’ win last round and was a plus-7 in 27-plus minutes with just two points but 12 rebounds. He didn’t start the second half, and only played the first three minutes of the game. The starting five’s lone stint together was the first three-plus minutes of the night when they were outscored 13-0.
This unit had only played five minutes together in the playoffs prior to Game 2, and had a lot of success in such a small sample. In 11 regular-season games, 42 minutes, they had a 34.2 net rating with a 124.4 offensive rating and 90.2 defensive rating.
Playing It Smart
Searching for any kind of help, Kerr used 11 players in the first quarter, giving minutes to Kuminga, Pat Spencer and Gui Santos. Within the first two minutes of the second quarter, that number grew to 13 as Kevin Knox came in and then Jackson-Davis. The Warriors were down 31-17 at the 10:18 mark of the second quarter when Jackson-Davis entered the game.
Every active, healthy Warriors player saw action in the first half when Braxton Key played the final 5.7 seconds.
Part of the decision to use so many players certainly had to do with how much changes from Curry’s injury. The bigger picture was preserving Green and Butler. The two 35-year-olds barely had a break between Sunday’s Game 7 in Houston and Tuesday’s Game 1 in Minnesota. Butler, between those two games, played 86 minutes, and Green played nearly 75.
Butler was at 17 minutes going into halftime, and Green was at 15. The former finished at 34 minutes, and the latter played 29.
Calling On Kuminga
Between badly needing points from someone and essentially having to give him a longer leash, this was a game meant for Kuminga. His first stint wasn’t pretty. Kuminga was out-hustled by Donte DiVincenzo for an offensive rebound, missed two free throws and had a bad pass that was a turnover from an unnecessary jump.
The next time Kerr called his number, Kuminga was much better and was the Warriors’ leading scorer through the first half with 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting. Kerr rewarded him by starting Kuminga over Post to begin the second half, and he exploded for two big dunks in the first few minutes.
Kuminga made his first three shots of the second half, bringing him to 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting, before missing a turnaround jumper in the final two minutes of the third quarter. His perfect 8 of 8 start was followed by three misses to end his otherwise strong night.
On a night that didn’t have a ton of positives, Kuminga’s play was at the top of the list for the Warriors. He was under control most of the time and used his athleticism to his advantage. With Curry out, the Warriors will need Kuminga’s ability to score.
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