Warriors vs. Timberwolves Series Preview

There’s nothing quite like a homecoming. While Jimmy Butler hasn’t been a Timberwolf for a long, long time, his years spent with the team are some of the most well known of his career.

Now he’s headed back to Minnesota, not as a savior, but as a villain.

(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

The Warriors take on the Timberwolves Tuesday night in what will kick off one of the most anticipated series of the NBA postseason.

Both teams played hard in round one, each upsetting the higher seed, and they did so by relying on some of the best talent in the league.

Even more interesting, is that both teams win in very different ways

The Wolves are younger. They rely on athleticism, hard defense, and physicality. In contrast, the Warriors are a much more experienced squad who use quick offense and deep shooting to win.

That creates an interesting dichotomy that will surely make for good TV.

The Physical Side of Basketball

Minnesota is a big team. Where most franchises in the NBA rely on their guards to do most of the lifting, the Timberwolves are anchored by one of the best frontcourts in the league.

Naz Reid, Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, and Jaden McDaniels can all hold their own on both sides of the ball. The foursome are great scorers as well.

That size is what allowed the Timberwolves to dominate the Lakers, and it’s how they plan to take over the next series. Los Angeles, for all of their talent, did not have a true big.

Minnesota took advantage of that by owning the paint and wearing their opponent down

The script will likely stay the same against Golden State. The Warriors have few down low options, and the ones they do have cannot tangle with Minnesota’s lineup. They’re likely going small, as going big simply isn’t an option.

The Timberwolves aim to dominate the glass in the same way they did against Los Angeles

They will probably be more physical and score inside too. Still, that mismatch isn’t the end of the world for Golden State. The Warriors are used to being the smaller team.

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A Wealth of Deep Threats

It’s easy to see where the Timberwolves are going to make their money. With the Warriors, things get a bit more nebulous. They don’t have as much going on, which means they need to rely on Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler to get to the next round.

The two have proven time and time again why they’re some of the best players in basketball

However, they aren’t Golden State’s only option. The Warriors have plenty of role players who can all step up at the right time.

Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield are both averaging more than 10 points per game this postseason.

They each also spread the floor and create another deep threat, which often takes focus away from Butler and Curry.

Just a bit of extra shooting is all the superstar duo need to go off

Moses Moody and Draymond Green also have the ability to have big nights. It’s much less common, but the more threats the Warriors put on the floor, the better.

Knowing they can’t win inside, Golden State is likely going to go small and try to run the Timberwolves off the court. They have plenty of shooters, and are led by two of the best scorers in basketball.

If they can spread the floor and out hustle the Timberwolves, it could force Minnesota to switch out their bigs and play the Warriors’ game.

The Best in the West

Of course, it would be impossible to look at the upcoming series without discussing the stars. Curry is averaging 24 points a game this postseason, and Butler is averaging 18.

On the other side, Anthony Edwards is putting in 26.8 a game, Julius Randle is scoring 22.6, and Jaden McDaniels is averaging 17.4.

The team that can limit the opponent’s best players will likely be the one that comes out on top. Guarding any of the above five is no easy task, especially Curry and Edwards.

They are their respective team leaders, which means the offense goes through them

“[Edwards] is really damn good,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “Ant is an amazing player…He’s the reason they are where they are.”

The same could be said about Curry and Butler. While everyone will produce at some point, it’s hard to tell who is going to hit the big shots. The Timberwolves have their work cut out for them.

They know how to win, and they can do it by staying disciplined

The Warriors, on the other hand, are more dangerous from deep and are led by plenty of experience.

They also tend to do better in the clutch

It’s a coin flip on paper, but games aren’t decided on paper. They’re decided in big games. The first one starts Tuesday night.