The Golden State Warriors are on the verge of elimination as they trail in the best-of-seven series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, 3-1. On Wednesday, the Warriors will play in Game 5 without their All-Star guard Stephen Curry. The team announced on Tuesday that Curry will not be playing. They’ll look to lean on Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green to try and extend the series.
The only game the Warriors won in the series was the first one. They had a 99-88 victory even though Curry only played 12 minutes. During that game, the four-time champion suffered a hamstring injury. Since then, Golden State has lost three straight games to Anthony Edwards and the Wolves.
On Tuesday, TNT’s “Inside the NBA” featured former star Dwight Howard as a guest. He was asked by Ernie Johnson about what he thinks are the chances for the Warriors star to win in Minnesota. Game 5 will be at Target Center, in front of the Minneapolis crowd.
Howard had a blunt response and even compared them to the reigning champions, the Boston Celtics.
“They got about the same amount of a chance as Boston do. Zero,” Howard said. “It’s over with for both of them.”
“I’m going with it, Golden State is out.”
"[Warriors] got about the same amount of a chance as Boston do. Zero."
Dwight doesn't see the Dubs making it past Game 5
pic.twitter.com/BlpfQ4gTxH
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 14, 2025
Like the Golden State Warriors, the Celtics are down 3-1. Similarly, their best player suffered an injury. However, Boston’s Jayson Tatum had a more severe injury as he tore his right Achilles tendon.
Both teams still have a chance since they are still in the postseason. However, it will take a lot from the rest of the roster to do most of the heavy lifting in their star’s absence.
While most of the attention was on Curry’s hamstring injury, many overlooked what Butler went through in Game 4 . The Golden State Warriors star played through an illness, head coach Steve Kerr pointed out. While that wasn’t the sole reason for his lack of aggression offensively, Kerr said it had an impact on his performance.
However, he assured the media that the six-time All-Star will be ready for Game 5.
“But he’s feeling better and he’ll be ready to go tomorrow,” the Warriors coach said.
Butler only had nine shots against Minnesota. He finished with 14 points and six rebounds. The game before that, he was more assertive on the offensive end. The former Miami Heat star had 26 shots from the field and finished with 33 points.
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