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Steve Kerr Has Definite Response on Outcome of Warriors-Timberwolves Series

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Robert Marvi | Last updated May 11, 2025 10:38 AM ET

Although the Golden State Warriors defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series, they lost Stephen Curry to a hamstring strain.

As a result, they have found themselves in trouble ever since. On Saturday, they fell in Game 3, 102-97, and fell behind two games to one in the series.

Golden State, not surprisingly, has been struggling offensively without its leading superstar. Head coach Steve Kerr stated a simple truth about what the team needs to do in order to even the series.

"I think we're gonna win the series with defense," he said. "We're not gonna beat them in a skill game, we have to get stops to win the series. Without Steph obviously we're a totally different team"

Steve Kerr:

"I think we're gonna win the series with defense. We're not gonna beat them in a skill game, we have to get stops to win the series. Without Steph obviously we're a totally different team" pic.twitter.com/01eeXGgEwF
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) May 11, 2025

Curry does much more than toss in 3-pointers and provide Golden State with a volume scorer. He is also, along with forward Draymond Green, its main ball-handler and facilitator, and he is also an underrated penetrator, rebounder and defender.

On Saturday, the Warriors got 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists from Jimmy Butler and 30 points from reserve forward Jonathan Kuminga. But only one other player cracked double figures in scoring for them.

Minnesota forces opponents to grind it out and play slowdown basketball, which is an added challenge for the Warriors. They will have to find a way to generate enough easy scores, which will not be easy against Minnesota's big and rugged frontcourt.

Without Curry, they will have to win ugly, which is something they aren't accustomed to doing, since they simply won't be able to score a decent number of points.

A win in Game 4 on Monday could tide Golden State over enough until Curry returns, which could happen later in this series. But a loss would put the team one step away from extinction.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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