, the second game of the series between the Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves is about to start. In the first game, the Warriors took the lead on the road with an 11-point advantage, but the price was extremely heavy: the star player Stephen Curry accidentally strained his left hamstring during the game. He was diagnosed with a first-grade strain and is expected to miss all games from G2 to G4. This undoubtedly casts a heavy shadow on the Warriors' playoff prospects.

Curry's absence not only affected the scoring, but also directly weakened the Warriors' tactical containment ability. In Game 1 , the Warriors won. In addition to Curry's stable rhythm in the early stage, Butler scored 20 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. Hield fired from the outside and hit 5 three-pointers to contribute 24 points and 8 rebounds. Draymond Green also sent out 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Now that Curry is absent, Hield and others will face more targeted defensive challenges from the Timberwolves.

As for the Timberwolves, although they lost the first game, the team did not lose all the points. Anthony Edwards scored 23 points and 14 rebounds on 9 of 22 shots , and Randle and Naz Reid contributed 18 points and 19 points respectively. But the Timberwolves only scored 88 points, the second lowest score in the playoffs this season, second only to the 85 points they lost to the Lakers. They performed poorly on both offense and defense in this game, falling behind by more than 20 points at one point, and their home advantage was lost early.

With Curry's injury, the bookmaker opened the Timberwolves' home handicap of 10.5 points for this game, a significant increase from the 6.5 points in the first game. The adjustment of the handicap not only reflects the impact of the Warriors losing their core player, but also reflects the Timberwolves' strong attitude of " cannot lose again " . For the Timberwolves, this game must be won, otherwise they will fall behind 0-2 and lose the initiative to advance. Edwards needs to step up, and the role players also need to perform at a higher level to complete the adjustment.

On the other hand, although the Warriors won Game 1, their outside offensive organization and containment were greatly reduced after losing Curry. Hield and others are likely to be given special attention, and the scoring space is greatly compressed. In the absence of a core organizer, it is extremely difficult for the Warriors to pull off another away upset.

Taking all factors into consideration, the Timberwolves are expected to take advantage of their home court and full personnel to complete their revenge in Game 2. I recommend " handicap home win " , and I think the Timberwolves will pull one back and tie the series at 1-1.