Thursday night featured a must-win game for the Minnesota Timberwolves, which they ultimately came away with the win from, 117-93. In taking down the Golden State Warriors in Game 2, the Wolves effectively gave themselves the blueprint to winning this series — With their defensive prowess.
Let's face it. With Stephen Curry out for what looks like at least the next three games of this series, the Warriors become a much easier team to play against. That doesn't make it an easy series by any means, and especially if Anthony Edwards' injury persists. but there's no questioning the fact that Golden State loses a crucial element without its best player and the greatest shooter of all-time.
In Game 2, Minnesota won on the backs of a strong defensive performance. Unless something changes, that is going to be the way the Timberwolves win this series.
Truth be told, the way Golden State was able to hang in Thursday's contest for a bit despite being down Curry should warn Anthony Edwards and company that they are going to need to be on top of their game. And the kind of performance they will need going forward is a replication of their 24-point victory at Target Center.
The Timberwolves have to win this series on the back of their defense
The Timberwolves have more healthy bodies, a deeper rotation, and a better chance to catch fire on offense based solely on defensive capabilities and the numbers game than the Warriors. Going all-in on defense and shutting off Golden State's water offensively is their clearest path to winning this series, and perhaps to even finish things off in five games, before Curry has a chance to come back.
Looking back on Thursday night, who do the Warriors have that is a legitimately scary scoring threat with number 30 sidelined? You would usually say Jimmy Butler, but this does not look anything like the player that led the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals just two seasons ago. Butler looked a step slow, and he finished with just 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting.
Outside of Butler, Golden State simply does not have any other one-on-one scorers that are going to put immense pressure on the Wolves' defense by themselves. Buddy Hield is a lethal catch-and-shoot threat, but he can't create his own shot. Jonathan Kuminga had a solid game on Thursday with 18 points, but it was very much an outlier performance for him.
This only reinforces the view that Minnesota has to commit fully to the defensive end. The Warriors don't have a single player that can totally break them with their scoring ability. If the Timberwolves bring their A-game on that end of the floor, this series could be over in five or six games.