Steph Curry has officially been scratched for Game 2 in Minnesota with a Grade 1 hamstring strain. That means the rest of the team has to elevate their game if the Warriors want to keep their NBA playoff magic alive. Draymond Green popped off in the first half and finished with 18 points in the Game 1 win.
Jimmy Butler was a trade deadline acquisition and he’s been the No. 2 option for this team and will probably become the focal point for the Warriors during Curry’s absence. He nearly had a triple-double on Tuesday night with 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Butler and Green are the two obvious options that need to step up, but who else should the Warriors turn to in Curry’s absence? They probably won’t have as much luck in Game 2 as it did in Game 1 after the Timberwolves’ miserable shooting performance.
Here’s who will need to step up as Curry’s hamstring injury could affect the Warriors playoff run long term.
4 Golden State Warriors that need to step up amid Steph Curry hamstring injury
4) Jimmy Butler
This goes without saying that Butler has to step up. The Warriors need playoff Jimmy, or rather Bubble Jimmy. The one that carried the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers in the bubble. That’s the Butler the Warriors are expecting to show up in Curry’s absence.
When the Warriors traded for Butler, they knew they needed a player that could carry the offensive load if need be. Now’s his chance to prove they made the right decision. When Butler arrived in San Francisco, he was an immediate, two-way impact for the Warriors.
Butler needs to tap into that again in this playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He scored more than 20 points in all but two of his appearances in the Houston Rockets series. They need that type of consistency.
He made his stamp in the postseason with a 38-point game against the Memphis Grizzlies to lead the Warriors to a play-in win and lock up the seventh seed. Butler has to tap into that mindset again if the Warriors have any shot at pulling off another upset.
Butler has largely regressed his star role since arriving with the Warriors and deferred to Curry. Now he doesn’t have the luxury. As a result, he should have more than enough to wheel these Warriors through the Timberwolves series. He had less to work with in Miami and carried them to the Finals.
Leading this Warriors team shouldn’t be too much of a task. Green is always a complementary piece to play alongside and between Buddy Hield and the rest of the squad, Butler shouldn’t have to play otherworldly to elevate this Warriors team; he just has to play the way he knows how.
3) Draymond Green
Green showed just how important of a role he can have in Curry’s absence in the first half of Game 1. He was splashing 3-pointers left and right and looking like the younger, slightly less grey, version of his younger self. It propelled the Warriors to build a 20-point lead.
He has to consistently produce while Curry is out. If he doesn’t, it could be the reason the Warriors playoff run ends in the second round. If he does, it could take some pressure off Butler and the rest of the team.
Green isn’t going to be a consistent 15-20 point scorer and truthfully without Curry, they probably don’t need him to be either. They just need him to hit the critical shots as well as make the additional plays to keep this team in the game.
The Warriors have enough depth, the pressure now goes to the second unit guys to produce more than they’re used to. Butler and Green will have to be the heartbeat of this team in order for them to not get blown out of this series.
2) Jonathan Kuminga
This is an interesting player to watch right now. The Warriors have slowly fizzled Jonathan Kuminga out of the rotation, but may have to rely on him more. He was drafted inside the top 10 for a reason. The Warriors saw a future star in him and now he has a chance to back that up.
The Warriors have essentially been preparing for life without Kuminga. They looked to trade him earlier in the season, but injuries forced them to change course. After having a scorching run in March, he cooled off a bit in April and has essentially been non-existent in the postseason.
He’s played in just four playoff games this year and has one game with 20 or more minutes. That should increase while Curry is out, but that means nothing if he’s not doing anything to help the team. He averaged 15.3 points per game this season and the Warriors will need all of that to make up for Curry.
He doesn’t have to be a super hero by any means. But he does need to be so much better at scoring while actually elevating the team if he wants to get the money he feels he deserves. The Warriors could benefit from him playing well too. They could end up in a win-win situation where he steps up and can improve his trade value.
1) Buddy Hield
Buddy Hield erupted for 33 points on 9-for-11 from beyond the 3-point arc in Game 7 of the Houston Rockets series. He scored 24 in Game 1 on Tuesday night. This type of play from Hield is why the Warriors added him.
He’s a 3-point marksman that is the perfect complement when Curry isn’t on the court. Now that he won’t be playing at least for one game, Hield has to continue to be a consistent scorer and consistent shooter for the Warriors.
They brought him in to supplement 3-point scoring when Curry is on the bench. Now he has to show why the Warriors put faith in him and prove he was worth bring in.