The Golden State Warriors will shoot for a 2-0 series lead in Game 2 before flying back to San Francisco for Game 3 and Game 4. But they can expect an eager Minnesota Timberwolves to push back harder this time around after a lackluster showing in the series opener.
Catch this game live on Thursday, May 9, 2025 at 8:30 AM, Manila time
Away: Golden State Warriors (1-0)
Projected Starting Five:
- Moses Moody
- Brandin Podziemski
- Jimmy Butler III
- Moses Moody
- Draymond Green
The Warriors are hard to kill. The Houston Rockets learned about that in the first round, and so did the Timberwolves in Golden State’s 99-88 win in Game 1.
Stealing a win in Minnesota is extra huge for the Warriors because the pressure would have been so much bigger for them going into Game 2 otherwise, especially knowing they won’t have Stephen Curry. The two-time NBA MVP suffered a hamstring injury, forcing the Warriors to rule him out ahead of Game 2.
With that, Jimmy Butler and Buddy Hield might have to be the Batman-Robin combo for Golden State. Butler had 20 points in Game 1 while Hield stayed hot with 24 points and five 3-pointers.
Hield has averaged 28.5 points on 55.9 FG% in the last two Warriors games. Meanwhile, Brandin Podziemski will have to recover from his poor showing in Game 1, where he shot 1-for-7 from the field for three points in 29 minutes.
Home: Minnesota Timberwolves (0-1)
Projected Starting Five:
- Mike Conley
- Anthony Edwards
- Jaden McDaniels
- Julius Randle
- Rudy Gobert
Anthony Edwards said before that he wanted to face the Warriors in the playoffs. He got what he wanted, with Golden State blowing out the Timberwolves out of the water in Game 1. Edwards scored just a point in the first half of Game 1 and finished with 23 points on 9-for-22 shooting from the field.
As the team’s best player, Edwards has to bring it, and he will get a reset in Game 2, with the Timberwolves hoping for better results.
But as a team, the Timberwolves should also be looking to end a brutal slump from deep. Over their last two games, the T’wolves have shot just 12-for-76 from deep for a horrendous 15.8 3 FG%.
Getting Rudy Gobert involved more could also be the trick for Minnesota, which got 27 points on 15 field goal attempts from him in the series-clinching win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.
Picks
Spread: Golden State Warriors (+10.5)
Over/Under: Over (201.5)
