The hottest showdown! Curry s injury becomes a hidden danger. Can the Warriors three-point rain destroy the Timberwolves?

The Warriors and the Timberwolves are the two most in full swing after the trade deadline. After the introduction of Butler, the team looked completely new and achieved 23 wins and 8 losses in the subsequent games. When Butler and Curry joined hands, the Warriors' record was even more outstanding, reaching a terrifying 22 wins and 5 losses. The Timberwolves are also unwilling to be outdone and have achieved a record of 20 wins and 10 losses after the trading deadline.

Therefore, it is no surprise that these two teams can defeat strong opponents in the first round of the playoffs and advance to the next round successfully. In the series against the Lakers, the Timberwolves solved the battle in five games with an overwhelming advantage, successfully eliminating many concerns about Edwards' passing ability, Randle's playoff soft-footed shrimps, and the Timberwolves' prone to low-level mistakes in the game.

The Warriors' performance in the series against the Rockets was like riding a roller coaster, with ups and downs. However, in the tiebreak battle that determines the outcome, they showed strong strength without reservation, proving that they still have the ability to end the game at critical moments.

Review of regular season confrontations

The Warriors and the Timberwolves played four games in the regular season, and the Warriors won the upper hand with a record of 3 wins and 1 loss. However, it is worth noting that since Butler joined the Warriors, the two teams have not yet had a record of playing against each other.

December 6, 2024: Timberwolves 107 - 90 Warriors

December 8, 2024: Warriors 114 - 106 Timberwolves

December 21, 2024: Warriors 113 - 103 Timberwolves

January 15, 2025: Warriors 116 - 115 Timberwolves

In the first match between the two sides, the Timberwolves' defense was a wall of iron, which brought great obstacles to the Warriors' offense. They successfully limited the Warriors' fourth quarter score to just 18 points and forced the Warriors into a long scoring drought multiple times throughout the game. However, in the next three games, the Timberwolves failed to continue such a great defensive performance.

In the second confrontation between the two sides of the season, the Timberwolves had loopholes on the defensive end and failed to effectively limit the performance of Curry and Hilder. Curry scored 30 points, and Hilde also scored 27 points. Green staged a classic "good night" celebration in the game, adding a lot of topicality to the game.

In the last match between the two sides of the season, the Warriors' lineup was not complete, and Green was absent for some reason, but Curry stood up and carried the team's offensive banner alone. He scored 31 points in the game and hit key balls many times at critical moments, successfully preventing the Timberwolves from counterattacking and helping the Warriors win in a difficult situation.

Series prediction

If the two sides face each other in the first round, the Warriors may have a greater chance of winning. But as far as the current situation is concerned, they will undoubtedly face huge challenges if they want to win this series.

Curry has been suffering from thumb injury, and in the first round of the game against the Rockets, the Rockets defended Curry in a targeted manner, which made his injury situation not relieved. Curry averaged 38.3 minutes of playing time in the first round, an increase of 6 minutes compared to the average playing time in the regular season. Under such a high-intensity game load, Curry not only needs to take on the heavy responsibility of leading the Warriors forward, but he only has one day off to adjust his condition before the start of this round of series, which will be a serious test for his physical fitness and competitive state.

In addition, the Warriors face another major hidden danger - Draymond Green. Green is currently only one second-level malicious foul or two first-level malicious fouls, and he will face an automatic suspension. Looking back on Green's past grudges with Gobert, especially when he implemented a throat lock on Gobert last year. Once he cannot effectively control his emotions in this series, he is likely to miss some key games because of this, which will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the Warriors' inside defense and overall tactical system.

For the Warriors, they obviously cannot bear the consequences of Green's absence. In the first round of the game, the Rockets caused great trouble for the Warriors with their huge height advantage in the inside. The Timberwolves also have a height advantage in the inside, which will undoubtedly put the Warriors in trouble again.

Gobert showed strong dominance in the series with the Lakers against the relatively short inside lineup. In the crucial fifth game, he scored 27 points and grabbed 24 rebounds, becoming one of the key factors in the team's victory. Randall also played his career-best playoff performance in the series, with his strong body and excellent basket skills averaged 22.6 points per game and 4.4 assists. In addition, the Timberwolves also have the best substitute center Naz Reed, whose presence further strengthens the team's interior depth.

In contrast, the Warriors seem to be short of inside player reserves. In the first round, they tried to get Kumingga to play briefly, but his performance did not meet expectations and helped the team very little. Looney and Teres Jackson-Davis also failed to bring substantial improvements to the team's interior. Although rookie Post has a certain outside shooting ability and can open up offensive space to a certain extent, he is currently unable to afford a lot of playing time.

Judging from the diversity of the team's lineup, the Timberwolves undoubtedly have a clear advantage. Their lineup is rich and diverse, and they can flexibly adjust their tactical styles according to different opponents and game situations. Head coach Chris Finch tried different final squads many times during the season. This tactical flexibility allows the Timberwolves to better deal with various emergencies during the game, thereby increasing their chances of winning.

At the same time, Edwards' significant improvement in passing ability also made his opponent face greater difficulties in defending him. In the past, opponents could limit Edwards' scores through double-team tactics, but now, his progress in passing has made the opponent dare not easily adopt double-team tactics, which undoubtedly provides more choices and space for the Timberwolves' offense. Overall, the Timberwolves have sufficient strength in lineup depth, tactical diversity and player personal abilities to challenge the strong Warriors.

Predictive result: The Timberwolves defeated the Warriors 4-2 and advanced to the next round.

Key Highlights

Can Butler lead the Warriors further in the playoffs?

Butler Su is known in the league for his outstanding performance in the playoffs, and he once again proved his strength this season. Although he accidentally fell in the second game of the first round, causing a pelvic contusion, he still played with injuries, averaging 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. Despite some impact on mobility, Butler's performance is still remarkable.

However, Butler's image in the minds of Minnesota fans is not that beautiful. In 2018, he left the Timberwolves through a forced trade, which left a bad impression on Minnesota fans. This season, he has not had a record of playing against the Timberwolves due to the suspension and mid-term trading.

For the Timberwolves, limiting Butler's chances of free throws will be the key to defense. In the playoffs, Butler ranked fourth in the league in free throws, reaching 44. Among them, McDaniels has certain problems in defending Butler's fake moves. He needs to be more focused and self-disciplined to avoid being easily deceived by Butler's fake moves, thereby reducing the number of fouls.

Can the shark chopping tactic work?

In the first round, the Rockets showed strong dominance in offensive rebounds, and they successfully grabbed 35.8% of offensive rebounds. In the league, the only team with higher offensive rebounding rates than the Rockets is the Timberwolves. They grabbed 36.5% of offensive rebounds in the series against the Lakers.

This is undoubtedly a huge hidden danger for the Warriors. The Warriors are best at a small lineup. In order to deal with the opponent's advantage in the inside, the Warriors tried to use the tactic of deliberately fouling Adams because Adams' free throw percentage was not high. However, the Timberwolves' Gobert (67.4% free throw percentage), Randall (80.6% free throw percentage) and Reed (77.6% free throw percentage) all have high stability at the free throw line, which makes the Warriors unable to use this tactic to limit their opponent's inside offense. How will the Warriors defend Edwards?

Edwards is already one of the best three-point shooters in the league in the regular season, and although his three-point shooting percentage has dropped in the playoffs, it has not affected his threat on the offensive end. With excellent breakthrough ability and strong physical fitness, Edwards can easily break through his opponent's defense and attract defensive attention, thus creating scoring opportunities for his teammates.

For the Warriors, Payton Jr. may be a key figure in defending Edwards. In the past, Payton Jr. had good performance in defense of Edwards. He had excellent defensive awareness and physical fitness, and could cause certain trouble for Edwards' offense.

In addition, the Warriors have always been known for their active defensive style. They are not afraid of rotating defense and often use double-teaming tactics to limit their opponents' core players. However, in the series with the Lakers, Edwards successfully cracked this defensive strategy of the Lakers, causing great trouble to the opponent. Therefore, the Warriors need to make more refined adjustments when defending Edwards, improve their defense execution and tacit understanding in order to effectively limit his performance.