SAN FRANCISCO – Warriors coach Steve Kerr has 48 hours to solve the puzzle known as the Timberwolves’ defense, two days to craft a new “formula” after the successful standard was dashed to pieces 15 minutes into the team’s second-round series with Minnesota.
Facing a supremely tight time crunch and a daunting 3-1 series deficit after the Wolves won Game 4 117-110 on Monday night, the longtime coach acknowledged that the oft-referenced “formula” that led Golden State to success in the second half of the season is not replicable with Steph Curry bound to the sideline with a left hamstring strain.
“Without Steph, the game changes and we have to adapt accordingly,” said Kerr, whose team remained tight-lipped about Curry’s status.
Without the greatest shooter to ever live – and the Warriors’ spiritual heartbeat – every aspect of the game has become radically different and far more difficult.
Openings that Curry once created with his mere presence have been replaced by waiting defenders who were not concerned with Golden State shooters who went 8-for-27 from distance in what could have been the team’s final home game this season.
Golden State Warriors’ Buddy Hield #7 brings the ball downcourt as he’s guarded by Minnesota Timberwolves’ Jaden McDaniels #3 in the second quarter of their NBA Western Conference semifinal game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, May 12, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)Draymond Green chided his teammates, part of an eight-man rotation aside from the garbage time lineup, for passing up open shots for better shots that never materialized.
“When you’ve got Steph out there, you can turn down looks because you can go and play on the backside and he creates so many — causes so many dominos to fall,” Green said. “But when he’s not, you turn down that first open look and then go looking for something else and it may not open up again.”
Buddy Hield and Brandin Podziemski, the Warriors’ two best non-Curry shooters, were a cold 7-for-25 from the field on Monday while passing up open looks, and the Warriors have now lost three consecutive playoff games for the first time since they blew a 3-1 series lead to Cleveland in the 2016 NBA Finals.
Without Curry’s steady hand at point guard, the Warriors have used Jimmy Butler, Podziemski and even Green as a floor general.
That lack of a traditional playmaker – Kerr has publicly stated multiple times that Podziemski is not a natural point guard – showed up in the disastrous third quarter that saw the Warriors endure a 17-0 Timberwolves run that blew open the game.
“We just need to be more organized, get to our spots and our space and we’ll be able to score,” Kevon Looney said.
Minnesota Timberwolves’ Nickeil Alexander-Walker #9 celebrates in the second quarter of their NBA Western Conference semifinal game against the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, May 12, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)The Warriors looked anything but organized during that hellish third quarter, hounded and harassed by Rudy Gobert and the Timberwolves defense and scoring just 17 points as a team.
Jaden McDaniels put the clamps on Jimmy Butler, who was a shell of his “Playoff Jimmy” self while battling what Green said was an illness, and a well-publicized sore pelvis.
Butler took just nine shots and had zero lift or explosion on his drives to the rim, a far cry from the man who took 26 shots in Game 3.
The Warriors expect him to be closer to his usual self in Game 5.
“He’s proven that not only here, since we traded for him, but over the years he knows what’s needed,” Kerr said. “And I’m confident that in Game 5, he’s the ultimate competitor. He’ll be ready to roll.”
The offense was only half of the problem on Monday night.
The Timberwolves shredded the Warriors from the perimeter, making 16 of 34 from the 3-point line, with Julius Randle making 6 of 11 en route to 31 points. Minnesota was efficient from inside the arc too, shooting 23 of 45 on 2-point shots.
Anthony Edwards scored 30 points, including three 3-pointers during the momentous third-quarter run.
Related Articles
Where was ‘Playoff Jimmy’ when Warriors needed him? After an embarrassing Game 4 loss, only a miracle can save the Warriors Will Warriors get Steph Curry back on brink of elimination in Game 5? Warriors facing elimination after Timberwolves pull away in Game 4 Mavericks defy odds to win NBA draft lottery with Duke’s Flagg presumed top pick“But it’s like every time we’re on a run, we’re letting Ant break the run up,” Green said. “And somebody can break the run up, but it can’t be their best player.”
Minnesota grabbed only six offensive rebounds, but they hurt against a team with zero margin for error.
Golden State used a quick tempo and more solid play from Jonathan Kuminga (23 points) to jump out to a 60-58 lead at halftime.
Figuring out how to keep the pace of play at a frenzied speed is something the Warriors are focused on as they now face an elimination game.
“Gotta get loose balls, long rebounds,” Green said. “I thought we did a good job pushing the pace for parts of the game, but if you get loose balls and those long rebounds, it ramps it up even more.”
Even if the last three games say otherwise and Curry does not return until Game 6 at the earliest, the Warriors believe they are capable of devising a new formula and pulling off a comeback from down 3-1.
As usual, it was a Warriors stalwart who said the team has what it takes.
“We have belief, we have faith,” Looney said. “We’ll take it possession by possession, quarter by quarter. We’ve got to put together a full game, not just 40 good minutes of basketball.”
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Warriors seek new ‘formula’ to save season: ‘Without Steph, the game changes’ )
Also on site :