Timberwolves vs Warriors Preview

The 6th seed Minnesota Timberwolves will take on the 7th seed Golden State Warriors in the second round of the NBA Playoffs.

Minnesota defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in 5 games to advance. Golden State outlasted the Houston Rockets in 7.

Golden State won the season series against Minnesota 3-1.

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves stunned everyone when they took down the heavily favored Lakers in just 5 games to advance to the second round.

Anthony Edwards finally receives the playoff matchup he has been wishing for.

In an interview in 2023, Edwards said he wanted to face Golden State in the playoffs because of Draymond Green, who is notorious for his trash talking. Edwards is known for his competitive nature and not backing down from any trash talk that comes his way.

At just 23, Edwards already has an impressive playoff resume. He has made it a mission to hunt the other top stars in the game. In last year’s playoffs, Edwards defeated his childhood hero Kevin Durant and the reigning MVP Nikola Jokic en route to Minnesota’s first Western Conference Finals since 2004.

This year, he defeated LeBron James and Luka Doncic in the first round. He looks to add yet another superstar to his list: Stephen Curry.

Edwards is averaging 26.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists in these playoffs.

Julius Randle has proven the critics wrong with a strong performance so far. Randle is averaging 22.6 points on 48.1% shooting from the field and 39.3% from the 3-point line.

Jaden McDaniels has elevated his offensive game offensively. He is averaging 17.4 points, a 5.2 increase from his regular season average, on 57.4% shooting from the field.

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors escaped a disaster last round by winning Game 7 in Houston to prevent a 3-1 comeback from the Rockets.

Houston’s defense did not make it easy on Stephen Curry and company. Curry credited the Rockets’ defense as one of the toughest he has ever faced. He will have to deal with yet another top defense in Minnesota.

Curry has led the Warriors this postseason. He is averaging 24 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists.

Jimmy Butler has turned Golden State’s season around since they acquired him at the trade deadline. He will now look to help Golden State get past his former team. Butler is averaging 18.1 points, 6 rebounds and 4.8 assists.

Curry and Butler have shouldered much of the offensive load for Golden State in these playoffs.

In Game 7 against Houston, Golden State’s bench only provided 3 of 103 points. The Warriors will need their role players to step up if they want to beat Minnesota.

Prediction

This series will be nothing short of physical.

With Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert on the court at the same time, it is almost guaranteed that blows and words will be exchanged.

Minnesota was able to exploit the Lakers’ lack of a reliable center rotation. Golden State has this same issue.

Small ball has seemed to work against Gobert in the past, but it was not an issue against the Lakers. This trend may continue against Golden State.

Though Golden State has had much success in the past with Green at center, this may be the year where it becomes passé.

Minnesota is the hotter team coming into this series and it is hard to stop them once they get rolling. The Wolves hold home court advantage and that will be crucial this series. Golden State’s experience alone will keep them in the series, but the younger and more energetic Timberwolves team will be too much for them to overcome.

Prediction: Timberwolves in 7.

Stay tuned for more NBA stories and follow The Game Haus on Instagram and X!