Stephen Curry is out. The Golden State Warriors hope their shots keep going in.
The Warriors face their first full-game test without Curry when they tip off against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals series on Thursday in Minneapolis. Golden State has a 1-0 advantage in the best-of-seven series and seeks to steal a second straight victory on the road.
It will not be easy without Curry, who injured his left hamstring in the second quarter of Tuesday’s series opener. He scored 13 points in 13 minutes before he sustained the injury, which is expected to keep him out for at least one week.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr expressed confidence that the rest of the team could keep thriving, though Curry hasn’t missed a playoff game since Game 1 of the 2018 Western Conference semifinals against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Since Curry was drafted by the Warriors in 2009, the organization owns an 8-3 record in playoff games without him – but 104-51 with him.
“Every year the playoffs are about adapting — whether it’s a game plan, an injury, a lineup, so we just have to adapt,” Kerr said. “We’ve done this before. We’re confident we can do this again.”
Part of the reason for Kerr’s confidence is the presence of Jimmy Butler, who joined the team in February thanks to a trade with the Miami Heat. Butler nearly finished with a triple-double in Game 1 with 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. He will take on an even more prominent role in Game 2.
“We’re absolutely going to rely on Jimmy like we have when Steph has been off the floor the last couple months,” Kerr said. “We ran everything through Jimmy, but we can’t just rely on him creating every single shot. We’ve got to execute offensively.”
Minnesota is eager to even the series before both teams head to San Francisco to play Games 3 and 4. The Timberwolves looked rusty after a five-day layoff heading into the series opener, and they will look to be sharper offensively.
Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards said he and his teammates could not afford to dwell too much on a disappointing opener. He scored only one point in the first half as Minnesota fell behind by as many as 23 points before pulling back within single digits.
“I just look at (it like) every last one of us has got to play better individually, including myself,” Edwards said. “And we’ll see how it goes.”
Besides Edwards, who shot 9 of 22 and made one 3-pointer in the series opener, the Timberwolves also look for better shooting from backcourt contributors such as Donte DiVincenzo (3 of 11) and Mike Conley (0 of 5).
Julius Randle said he also was motivated to play better. He scored 18 points against the Warriors in the opener but finished with only three rebounds.
“I can’t have three rebounds,” Randle said. “We’ve all got to play better. I’ve got to play better as an individual. I can’t come away from this game playing 30 minutes and have three rebounds, so I’ve got to play better.”
For Golden State, Curry’s absence could create additional scoring opportunities for distance shooters such as Buddy Hield and Brandin Podziemski. Hield scored a team-high 24 points in the series opener while Podziemski will try to bounce back from a rough performance in which he missed six of seven shots from the field and four of five shots from 3-point range.
Kerr said his players will be motivated to play well while Curry is sidelined.
“I don’t need to give a ‘One For Steph’ speech,” Kerr said. “Everyone knows. They want to do it for him. Nobody has to say that.”
–Field Level Media
