Just 12 days ago, the Golden State Warriors seemed inevitable.
Two days fresh off a grueling seven-game battle with the Houston Rockets, the Warriors went into Target Center and defeated the well-rested Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
The multi-time champions looked primed to make yet another deep playoff run.
Then suddenly, Stephen Curry went down.
And then suddenly, so did Golden State’s championship hopes.
The belief within the organization was that Curry could return from his hamstring injury for Game 6 if the they could just hold off Minnesota for one game. They failed to do so.
Not only did they lose four straight games in Curry’s absence, but they also trailed by 15 or more points in each game.
We have seen teams win games in these playoffs without a star player. The Celtics managed to win a game without Jayson Tatum. The Cavaliers won multiple games without Darius Garland.
So, why couldn’t the Warriors do it?
The Absence of the “Curry Effect”
Stephen Curry is
In all of my years in watching the game of basket
If Steve Kerr and his revolutionary offense are the brains of the Warriors’ operation, then Curry is the heart that makes the whole thing run.
Poor Play from Supporting Cast
In the first round against the Rockets, the Warriors got outstanding contributions from role players in key moments throughout the series.
Buddy Hield shot 47.5 percent from the field in that series. He also had 33 points and a record nine three-pointers in Game 7.
Brandin Podziemski had a team-high 26 points in a pivotal Game 4 where Draymond Green effectively orchestrated the offense and played outstanding defense on Alperen Sengun, one of the best post players in the league, including a game-sealing stop.
None of those guys replicated their production in the second round despite the increase in minutes.
In fact, all of Golden State’s role players underperformed in the Timberwolves series except for Jonathan Kuminga, who didn’t even have a spot in the rotation a week ago.
Without Curry, Kerr’s job was exponentially more difficult. It was almost impossible to find a reliable rotation with the way this team is constructed.
Fourteen players played in Game 2. That is an astronomical number especially for a playoff game.
It doesn’t take a genius to know that in Game 2 of a playoff game, that is not the situation that you want to be in.
That’s what the preseason is for. That’s what the 82-game regular season is for. In reality, that’s what the entire calendar year is for EXCEPT April, May and June.
No team is going to be the same without their best player. But if you have to figure out how to look like a competent professional basketball team because your star got hurt, that’s a pretty good indication that the roster is flawed.
This team has no size, little athleticism, minimal defense, a lack of young talent and no other shot creators outside of Jimmy Butler III. There are many things that this team is missing and the lack of balance is what made it so hard to adjust.
Jimmy Butler III’s Passive Play
Let’s address the uncomfortable elephant in the room for Warriors fans: Jimmy Butler III was a huge disappointment in this series.
A few weeks ago, Butler called himself the Robin to Curry’s Batman. And I don’t blame him: There’s nothing wrong with being a sidekick to Steph.
But he clearly doesn’t realize that the Warriors traded for him and gave him a two-year, $111 million dollar contract extension to be Batman when needed. And with Curry’s absence, they absolutely needed him to be Batman.
Warriors fans weren’t the only ones expecting Butler to be “Playoff Jimmy”. The team also clearly was expecting better showings from him.
Butler led the team in minutes per game and total minutes throughout Golden State’s playoff run with 36.3 and 436 respectively. One of Kerr’s attempts to adapt was to run his offense through Butler.
In a post-game press conference after the Warriors’ stole Game 1 in Minnesota, Green was quoted saying “Jimmy’s capable of carrying the team. He carried a team to the Finals twice, so we won’t panic. We’ll figure out what that means.”
It turns out that meant almost nothing.
The main problem wasn’t necessarily his play in the series, although he did miss more uncharacteristic layups and open shots. The real issue was his lack of aggression.
When you are a first option on any team let alone a playoff team, you should be taking at least 20-25 shots a game. Even if the shots aren’t falling, at least you can produce by getting to the free throw line if nothing else.
Butler didn’t even lead the team in field goal attempts in multiple games.
Taking 13 or less shots in three out of four games will not lead to star production. You’re not going to open up opportunities for your teammates either.
In a series against a team with a clear superstar in Anthony Edwards, the Warriors needed Butler to step up and be their superstar. But he never shifted away from the “Robin” mindset.
Because he didn’t rise up and lead the charge, the Warriors were gentlemen swept.
The Bottom Line
Without Stephen Curry, the Timberwolves are simply a better basketball team than the Warriors. Period.
The T-Wolves’ roster is deeper, bigger, stronger, faster, shoots better on all three levels, and has the best player in the series by far.
Most importantly, they know exactly who they are. Without Curry, the Warriors do not.
There is not one thing that the Golden State Warriors do better on the court than the Minnesota Timberwolves if Stephen Curry is in street clothes.
If the Warriors are serious about competing for championships moving forward, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the front office have a lot of work work to fix the major issues that this team has.
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