Who ordered all this starfish and coffee, maple syrup and jam? Game 2 of the Golden State-Minnesota second-round series goes down in Minneapolis, with the hosts comfortably favored for Thursday night. Stephen Curry is expected to miss some playoff time after straining his hamstring Tuesday, but Golden State was still able to land the opening punch without him.
How to watch Golden State Warriors at Minnesota Timberwolves
- Venue: Target Center — Minneapolis
- Time: 8:30 p.m. ET Thursday
- TV: TNT, truTV
- Streaming: Max
- Watching in-person? Get tickets on StubHub.
Warriors at Timberwolves Game 2
Warriors lead series 1-0
Series odds: Timberwolves -200, Warriors +165
Curry could be looking at a week-long absence after Tuesday’s injury, a team source told Anthony Slater of The Athletic. That should give Jimmy Butler an uninterrupted green light for Game 2, plus extra jumpers for Buddy Hield and Brandin Podziemski. It also shifts up minutes for Gary Payton II, who was excellent in the series opener (2-for-3 behind the arc, two offensive rebounds, four assists).
Draymond Green looks locked in at age 35, posting an impressive 18/8/6 line in Game 1. He’s hitting his open 3s and playing Ed Reed-level free safety for Steve Kerr’s stout defense. The Timberwolves almost certainly won’t miss their first 15 (!) tries from deep again, but Golden State disoriented sets and contested aggressively.
Chris Finch can paper-airplane the Game 1 result and throw it away forever — below 40 percent from the field, below 18 percent on treys, 16 turnovers. Anthony Edwards has the potential to recalibrate the vibes and even up this series. Minnesota’s pack leader went a combined 10-for-20 on 3s in Games 3 and 4 of the Lakers series, but has since sputtered to 1-for-16 long-range shooting in the last two.
Don’t look now, but Julius Randle is putting together a composed and impressive postseason run. As the basketball adage goes, role players tend to over-perform at home. Naz Reid has been on a month-long heat check with the second unit, and some added boost from Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (both scoreless in Game 1) would go a long way.
Golden State will all but certainly throw its zone defense at Minnesota again after the unmitigated success of Tuesday’s effort. The Wolves looked stumped in the half-court. Maybe they’ll try to run more in transition to even the score.
Starting five of best players for both teams:
- D’Angelo Russell
- Latrell Sprewell
- Jimmy Butler
- Andrew Wiggins
- Joe Smith
Expert picks
On this day (May 8) in NBA Playoffs history
1970 — Lakers 99, Knicks 113 to win the NBA Finals, 4-3. Willis Reed limped onto the Madison Square Garden floor, then netted New York’s first two baskets of Game 7. He had torn his thigh muscle going against Wilt Chamberlain in Game 5. “We left the locker room for the warmups not knowing if Willis was going to come out or not,” Bill Bradley told The New York Times.
Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo of Draymond Green: David Berding / Getty Images)