97.7, 105, and 109.8.
Those are the Warriors’ offensive ratings in this series’ three games without Stephen Curry, who has been sidelined with a strained hamstring. For some context, the best of those numbers would have ranked 26th in the league for the regular season. Golden State lost all three games, which is why the news he is officially out for Game 5 Wednesday — a must-win for the Warriors, who are down 3-1 in the series to the Timberwolves — is troubling. Curry was re-evaluated Wednesday and will begin some on-court work, with the possibility of him playing in a potential Game 6 on Sunday out there, the team announced.
Without Curry, the Warriors have relied on their defense to muck up the game and make it ugly, then hope to find enough offense to get the wins. Even Jonathan Kuminga was let out of Steve Kerr’s doghouse to help spark the offense a little.
“Got to play the long game,” Draymond Green said of the Warriors chances. “If (Curry) can, we know he will. But there’s no pressure. We’ve got to figure out how to win whether he plays or not.”
To its credit, Minnesota has shown it can play and win ugly. It is an elite defensive team with a three-time Defensive Player of the Year in Rudy Gobert on the floor, not to mention athletic perimeter defenders like Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards. Plus, Edwards has started to figure out how the Warriors are defending him and with that he and the Timberwolves offense is picking up.
With Jimmy Butler leading the way, Golden State will not go quietly in Game 5 — force a Game 6 and maybe they get Curry back, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. However, they will have to find new offense on the road five games into a playoff series, which is a big ask.
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