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The Warriors came into their second round series against the Wolves as underdogs. Their odds of advancing grew even worse despite stealing home court advantage in Game 1, for obvious reasons. Stephen Curry's hamstring injury will have him out until at least Game 6 and possibly the entire series.
Everyone's gut reaction after seeing Curry hobble off the floor was to think that the Warriors were done. They had other thoughts though. They managed to outscore the Wolves by one point after that injury, finding a way to grind out an ugly 99-88 win. Can they do it again?
There are some pathways for Golden State to steal another game. If they can win one of the next four, then they might be able to force a Game 6 and 7 with Curry back. Here are their best pathways to victory.
MORE: Stephen Curry complete injury history
How the Warriors survive without Stephen Curry
Ride Playoff Jimmy
The Warriors have been a different team with Jimmy Butler on the floor. They're 27-10 in games that he's played, including 4-3 so far in the playoffs. Playoff Jimmy is the stuff of legends, and Golden State needs him to be the same guy that he was two years ago with Miami.
"Jimmy's capable of carrying a team," Draymond Green said after Game 1. "He carried a team to the Finals twice. We won't panic"
Those Heat teams gave Butler the ball and let him cook as an advantage creator and passer. They didn't have a ton of talent, but they rode hot shooting performances from role players. Buddy Hield is going to have to do his best Caleb Martin impersonation and drop a bunch of 20-point games off Butler's passes.
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The rest of the offense will have to come from Butler's free throw and midrange game. He's been pretty reluctant to take layups, but he can still draw contact better than any player in the league. It's not going to be pretty, but the Warriors are going to have to grind out offense that way.
Lean on the defense
There is one benefit to having Curry off the floor. He's not a bad defender, but he is usually their weakest link due to his lack of size.
The Warriors have thrived in the Butler-without-Curry minutes this year, outscoring teams by a whopping 10.4 points per 100 possessions. That is twice as good as they've been with Curry on the floor and Butler sitting. Their offense has been about as bad as you'd expect, but their defense has been better than the league-leading Thunder in those minutes.
That has been part of a season-wide trend since acquiring Butler. The Warriors were a good-not-great No. 10 defense before making that trade. They've been the No. 1 defense in the league afterwards.
It's no coincidence that Green's Defensive Player of the Year push came after acquiring Butler. Those two are among the most cerebral defenders in the league.
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Butler was teammates with Andre Iguodala in Miami late in Iguodala's career. It's somewhat fitting then that he's filling a similar defensive role for the Warriors. His versatility has been essential — he guarded everyone from Rudy Gobert to Anthony Edwards in Game 1.
Green has been arguably the best defensive player in the playoffs. He's been all over the floor, playing a ton of minutes at center and taking away the rim despite giving up a ton of size in most matchups.
The Warriors have been good at mixing up different looks, sprinkling in some zone and trying to run the Wolves off the 3-point line. They've also benefited from some great luck — the Wolves have shot just 12-of-76 from deep over their last two games. Even though the Wolves are missing those shots, they need to still focus on taking away those opportunities.
MORE: Updated NBA playoffs schedule
Win the possession battle
Another hidden benefit of losing Curry is that the team's turnovers should go down. As great as he is, he has oftentimes frustrated Steve Kerr with his penchant for throwing some crazy passes.
Butler is a much more careful and deliberate decision-maker. He and Curry both averaged six assists per game for the Warriors, but Butler's turned the ball over half as much.
The Warriors also were able to pull off the upset in Game 1 because they had a huge 51-41 rebounding edge, including an 18-12 edge in offensive rebounds. The Wolves are a lot bigger than the Warriors, but the Warriors have been a great offensive rebounding team all season. Everyone chips in to crash the glass. Butler had seven offensive rebounds in the opener, and Hield had four fall into his lap.
The Warriors are probably going to miss a lot of shots throughout the rest of this series, so those putback chances will be there. They need to continue to crash the glass hard and fight for every tiny advantage they can.
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