Golden State avoided the disaster on Sunday, going on the road to beat Houston in match 7 to dodge the collapse of the 3-1 series and go to the turn 2.
It is therefore now n ° 6 of Minnesota welcoming the n ° 7 Golden State in the semi-finals of the West Conference, the Wolves of sixth seeded obtaining an unexpected advantage in the semi-finals of the West Conference.
Here is a first overview of what will happen over the next two weeks.
Series calendar
Match 1: Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. at the Target Center (TNT)
Match 2: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. at the Target Center (TNT)
Match 3: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. in San Francisco (ABC)
Match 4: Monday, May 12, 9 p.m. in San Francisco (ESPN)
Match 5: Wednesday, May 14, TBD time at the Target Center (TNT)
Match 6: Sunday May 18, Time TBD in San Francisco (TBD)
Match 7: Tuesday, May 20, 7:30 p.m. at the Target Center (ESPN)
Regular season results
Golden State won the 3-1 season series. The last of the matches was played on January 15, weeks before the Warriors acquired Jimmy Butler.
Keys to Timberwolves
Win early: Minnesota will be expensive of five full days of rest after sending the Lakers to five games. Golden State, meanwhile, has just won a difficult battle that has left the Tour 1. The Veteran Warriors will only have 46.5 hours between the end of their series with Houston and the first tip of their series with the Wolves.
It is on the Minnesota to use his fresh legs and his upper depth to wear Melden State in each of the first two games of the Target Center to claim a dominant advance at the start of the series and put a doubt in the heads of the Warriors to find out if they can resist another 12 round and heavyweight fight.
Corral Curry: A great reason why the Timberwolves went 1-3 against Golden State this season this season was how the Minnesota was burnt down by the Superstar of the Warriors Steph Curry. Curry has collected an average of 30.3 points and 9.3 assists during the last three meetings – all the victories of Golden State – during effective shooting evenings.
He created the offensive for him and the others. Yes, Curry is a big one of all time, but Houston has just composed a defensive approach centered on curry which, sometimes, ended the Warriors. Minnesota should aim to reproduce these results and try its chance to bet against a constant offense from Buddy Hield and Draymond Green.
Ant Show: The Warriors were the best defensive team of the NBA after acquiring Jimmy Butler on the deadline for trade.
But Golden State has no defender of locking perimeter or rim protector. It would therefore not be surprising to see Golden State deploy a defensive scheme rich in gap in an attempt to slow down Anthony Edwards.
This would mean that it is again on Edwards to facilitate the minnesota offensive to create largely for others, while putting pressure on the Warriors by aggressively seeking its own opportunities when they are available.
Impressive size: Houston returned to the fight of the first round based on its size. Golden State had difficulty associating with the looks in Deux-Big with Steven Adams and Alperen Sengun.
Finally, in match 7, the Warriors coach Steve Kerr, opted for more minutes from the Kevon Looney reserve center.
It worked well for Golden State. But it is clear why Kerr did not want to take this path. Already in a strong star Green and Jimmy Butler, Looney only obliges other obstacles to the spacing of Golden State and limits the offensive increase in the team. But if Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle and Naz Reid can be too much for Green to manage – both defensively and on the glass – then Kerr will probably be left to make the same choice again, which is an advantage for the long -term Minnesota of the series.
And even with Looney running, Golden State was seriously exceeded by Houston even in match 7. Everyone has seen against the Lakers how much a significant advantage can be beneficial for Minnesota in a match.
The Green Game: Green put Rudy Gobert in a literal headache. He left on national television several times and has publicly ransacked the center. He will probably do much more of the same thing not only to Gobert, but to other minnesota players throughout a series of 7.
It is on Minnesota – an emotional team in its own right – to stay in itself and keep the accent on the XS and the operating system in the lines.
Prediction
Timberwolves in 5. Credits the Warriors for showing their championship DNA by bringing together enough fight to beat the Rockets on the road in match 7, but the aging nucleus of Golden State looked tired in the last stages of the series before the brick match of Houston.
And now warriors are watching another deep and physical adversary who can make their lives difficult almost in all senses.
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