The Minnesota Timberwolves have a clear plan heading into Game 2 of their series against the Golden State Warriors. That plan sounds simple: stop Jimmy Butler in Stephen Curry’s temporary absence.
One of Minnesota’s young stars, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, has been a huge piece of the team’s success so far in the postseason. During a recent interview, the Timberwolves guard spoke on his team’s plan of action.
Can Jimmy Butler Carry the Warriors Without Stephen Curry?
After Curry suffered a hamstring injury in Game 1 of the series, many wondered if the Warriors could win without him. While the Warriors did just that in Game 1, some wonder if they can keep that going.
Butler deserves a solid amount of credit for the victory. The veteran recorded a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds in a heroic effort that led to the victory.
Since “Playoff Jimmy” can erupt at any time, Alexander-Walker emphasized that stopping him represents the Timberwolves most significant focus heading into Game 2.
“We are aware that they don’t have one of the greatest shooters of all time or the greatest,” Alexander-Walker said. “And it’s about making sure the guys that they have that can shoot the ball continue to shoot poorly than they did in Game 1, but make sure you come up with those stops.”
Alexander-Walker then focused on Butler, saying, “Not letting guys like Jimmy, and we’ve seen what Jimmy has done in the past without Steph. So, not letting guys like Jimmy have those deep playoff runs and take over, let him put his input on the game the way he usually does. So it’s going to be a collective unit the way we did in the first round, making sure that as a group we don’t let up one bit.”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker says with Steph Curry out, now the Wolves must focus on Jimmy Butler so he doesn’t “take over” the way he has in the past in the playoffs pic.twitter.com/GkY447Ej1M
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten)
In theory, the Timberwolves’ plan for the Warriors makes sense. However, it is important to remember that Butler has carried arguably worse teams deep into the postseason. Since he has an elite facilitator like Draymond Green and relatively reliable shooters like Buddy Hield on his team, it would be unfair to claim that he cannot help the Warriors win another game.
Although Golden State will not be favored to win Game 2, the fact that they already stole a game from the Timberwolves will help them as the series progresses. Fans are left wondering if Butler can keep the team going in Curry’s absence and if the Timberwolves will find an effective way to contain him.
