What can Timberwolves expect from Warriors with Steph Curry out of lineup?

The Golden State Warriors will have to experience life without Steph Curry.

Curry suffered a Grade 1 left hamstring strain in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Minnesota Timberwolves and will be reevaluated in a week, the Warriors announced on Wednesday. But before then, the Wolves and Warriors will meet for Games 2, 3 and 4 of their series, and Game 5 falls directly on that one-week mark.

The Wolves will be facing a Curry-less Warriors for the foreseeable future, which changes the series significantly. The betting odds took a significant shift toward Minnesota following the news of Curry's injury, and there's not a large sample size of the Warriors without Curry since they've acquired Jimmy Butler. Both teams will have to rewrite their game plans.

“Obviously it allows us to move matchups around, things like that, so we’ll look at it," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said.

The Warriors were 1-1 in games Curry missed since they added Butler into the fold, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 104-93 on March 18 and losing to the Miami Heat 112-86 on March 25. In the win over the Bucks, Butler and Draymond Green both matched game bests for plus-minus as plus-14s. Butler scored a game-high 24 points and posted 10 assists and eight rebounds, while Green was a defensive forced with 10 boards, four blocks and two steals. Defense was the key to victory as they held Milwaukee to just 17 points in the fourth quarter and Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo to 20 points.

The defense floundered in the loss to the Heat and the Warriors were ice cold from the field. Butler was quiet, Green wasn't a factor and Jonathan Kuminga scored a team-high 15 points off the bench. With a very limited sample size, perhaps the best example of the Curry-free Warriors came in the second half against the Wolves. Butler and Green were the initiators, finishing with eight and six assists, respectively. Playing mistake-free basketball was key as they only had five turnovers in the second half after giving it away 13 times in the first 24 minutes. And everyone else stepped up.

But being without Curry changes everything for the Warriors. Curry leads Golden State in scoring in the playoffs, averaging 22.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. Where that consistent offensive production comes from will be the biggest question mark. The Warriors need Buddy Hield to replicate some production with his 3-point shooting, but he's simply not Curry. Green and Butler will be further tasked with initiating, but without the off-ball brilliance of Curry.

The Wolves, meanwhile, will have to change their defensive scheme to account for Curry's absence. Jaden McDaniels will be freed from the responsibility of chasing him around, and who Finch decides to match him up against defensively will be an interesting chess move. Will they use him to try and take out Hield — who scored a game-high 24 points in Game 1 — put him on Golden State's second-best scorer in Butler or even use him to pester Green when he's initiating the offense?

The options for Finch defensively widen dramatically with Curry out of the lineup. Minnesota could also switch everything, even with the Rudy Gobert lineups, without fear of the Curry mismatch. Offense likely won't come easy for the Warriors.

But ultimately, the betting odds, the perceived advantages and Curry's injury don't change the fact the Wolves are down 1-0 in the series. The top priority will be putting together a better effort than they brought in a very ugly Game 1 defeat.

"I'm just ready to play," Edwards said. "I don't really look at who injured, who out there, who not out there. I'm just ready to go out there and do it again. Try and play a little better."

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