After somehow finding a way to lose game one — after Steph Curry suffered a grade one hamstring strain in the second quarter that he has yet to return from — the Warriors have dropped three-straight to the Wolves.

We’re all dying to see the Timberwolves get back to the West Finals, but there’s no doubt Curry’s injury ruined what could have been a historically great series full of twists, turns and storylines galore. And that part sucks.

Steph Curry ruled out for game five – Timberwolves vs Warriors

Since Steph’s official diagnosis came to light, optimists have looked to game five as Curry’s earliest (plausible) return date. Hope faded, however, when the Wolves opened as massive -11.5 point favorites. If Curry is playing, that spread doesn’t exist. Late Tuesday night, the official report broke (via Anthony Slater – The Athletic): No Steph Curry for game five.

Steph Curry is out tomorrow for Game 5 in Minnesota. The Warriors officially face elimination without their star guard.

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 13, 2025

Steph Curry missing another game of this series isn’t the only news Slater dropped late Tuesday. In game four, the Golden State Warriors needed Jimmy Butler to get into his time machine and pull out a star performance, in order to threaten the Wolves’ takeover of this series.

Jimmy Butler was sick in game four vs Minnesota Timberwolves…

Instead, the Warriors got arguably Butler’s the worst performance of these first four games, posting just 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. At times, he even looked disinterested, only totalling nine field goal attempts all night. Butler also finished game four as a -30 in 34 minutes played.

Related: What We Learned About the Timberwolves in Overpowering Game 4 Win Over Warriors

Apparently, there was a reason (or excuse) for Jimmy’s no-show. According to what Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told media on Tuesday, the former Bull – turned Wolf – turned Sixer – turned Heat – turned Warrior… was dealing with a significant illness that was NOT listed on the team’s status report before the game.

Steve Kerr called Jimmy Butler's illness yesterday "definitely impactful." He went from 26 shots in G3 to nine in G4. Kerr: "But he's feeling better and he'll be ready to go tomorrow." Steph Curry remains out but did make the trip with the team.

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 14, 2025

Kerr is confident Butler is feeling much better entering game five, and Golden State expects him to be back to more of his normal self. Of course, prior to game four, they weren’t even willing to acknowledge that he had this debilitating illness in the first place.

One thing is for sure, though. We can confirm that Jimmy Butler can talk tough all he wants, but his mental toughness isn’t Michael Jordan’s. We’ll see if a now healthy Jimmy can make an impact on game five, when the Warriors need him most.

Anthony Edwards was sleep walking from the tip-off and the Wolves started 0-of-15 from deep, but the story of the game was Steph Curry leaving in the second quarter with a left hamstring strain, and not returning. On Wednesday morning, Curry underwent an MRI, in order to determine how severe his hamstring injury was.

Steph Curry went to the locker room after an apparent leg injury pic.twitter.com/xS3D5mW5Vo

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 7, 2025

At best, it was expected to be diagnosed as a grade one strain, which usually takes at least a few days to heal, likely longer. Worst case, it was a grade two or grade three strain that would cost the 16-year NBA veteran the rest of the second round vs Minnesota.

Steph Curry will miss multiple games vs Minnesota Timberwolves

In a turn of “good fortune” for Golden State, Steph’s imaging tests today revealed his hamstring strain to be a grade one, the best case scenario. Nonetheless, Golden State’s 3x NBA Champion, 10x All-NBA and 2x NBA MVP is expected to miss at least a week with his bad hamstring.

The Warriors expect Stephen Curry to miss at least one week with the Grade 1 left hamstring strain, sources tell ESPN. An exact return will be based on how their All-NBA guard responds to rehab with his first muscle strain. https://t.co/PWhFWz2sEQ

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 7, 2025

Looking ahead, that logically rules him out for game two (May 8), game three (May 10), game four (May 12) AND possibly game five (May 13). Let’s be real. If Steph Curry really misses the next four games of this series, it could legitimately be over by the time he is healthy enough to return.

Related: Chris Finch Puts Anthony Edwards on Blast After Timberwolves Loss

If Minnesota Timberwolves vs Golden State Warriors does indeed go beyond game five, game six is scheduled for five days later, on Saturday, May 17. Before he left game one, Curry had already piled up 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting (3-of-6 from 3 pt).

In just 13 minutes played, Steph finished as the Warriors’ fourth leading scorer. Without Stephen Curry on the floor, Golden State doesn’t have a legitimate high-end scoring threat.

Golden State Warriors will turn offense over to Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler may have been that at the peak of his NBA career, later on in Chicago, then in Minnesota, Philly and Miami, and no doubt Steve Kerr will ask him to take on more of a scoring role in Steph’s absence.

But the 2011 first round draft pick is now 35 years old and coming off a season where he averaged under 18 points per game for the first time since 2013-14. Does he still have that in him? We’ll start to find out, beginning Thursday night, back in Target Center for game two.

Since being traded to Golden State before the trade deadline, Jimmy has settled in quite nicely as a secondary scorer next to Curry. Now, he’ll have to go back to offensive alpha, if the Warriors are going to have a chance.

Q: "What'd you learn from this Game 1?"

JIMMY: "That Steph is our best player" 😂@JimmyButler did his 'Robin' thing with 20p, 11r, 8a to help lift the Warriors in Game 1! pic.twitter.com/k6xaTch55r

— NBA (@NBA) May 7, 2025

As for the Minnesota Timberwolves, they need to take advantage of Golden State’s misfortune and dominate this series for every second that Steph Curry is forced to be in street clothes. Game one needs to look like a mirage, by the time their superstar returns… if he even does.

We’ll get to some of those momentarily. But first, let’s take a look at the current betting odds for the NBA Playoffs, after the Oklahoma City Thunder were shocked Monday night, in game one vs the Denver Nuggets, who now lead the series 1-0.

Sportsbooks like Minnesota Timberwolves in the West…?

Even after taking the upset haymaker in game one, OKC remains the betting favorite, not just in the West, but to win the entire thing, after Boston was also upset in game one of their round two series vs Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks.

Entering tonight’s tip at Target Center, the Minnesota Timberwolves currently hold the second-best odds (~3/1) to win the Western Conference and fourth-best odds (11/1) to win it all, according to major sportsbooks — DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM.

Aside from the Oklahoma City Thunder, only the East’s Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers have better championship odds than Minnesota. All three teams lost their first game of their second round series on Monday.

The Timberwolves are -6.5 favorites to beat the Golden State Warriors in game one and -180 favorites to win the series. They started out their playoff journey underdogs against the Los Angeles Lakers, and Vegas made a fortune on uneducated Lakers/Yankees/Cowboys fans.

Obviously, Steve Kerr, Steph Curry and the gang in Oakland have been there and seen it all. But this is another older team with plenty of superstar power, but no depth. Not to mention, neither Steph Curry nor Jimmy Butler are anywhere near 100% physically.

Now, let’s talk about these storylines…

Storylines galore for MN Timberwolves vs Warriors

Draymond Green will have to face the Rudy Gobert music, after years of bad mouthing the 7-foot Frenchman publicly whenever given the opportunity. He’ll have to prove everything he said during last year’s playoff run where he and the TNT crew mocked and ridiculed Gobert night in and night out. Oh, and there was the time he Draymond nearly choked Rudy out during a scrum a couple years ago.

"I'm a truth teller and right now the truth is, Rudy Gobert don't stand a chance against Joker."

Draymond Green absolutely laid into Rudy Gobert at halftime 😳

Facts or sour grapes? 🤔pic.twitter.com/E66wly4OqD

— Covers (@Covers) May 15, 2024

Draymond Green put Rudy Gobert in a headlock and was ejected 😳 pic.twitter.com/ub7ZT34WiL

— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) November 15, 2023

Then… there’s Jimmy Butler, who has to face the Minnesota Timberwolves fan base for a seven-game series. Tuesday marks the first time the now 35-year-old has played in front of the Target Center crowd… since 2021.

Minnesota traded Jimmy Butler to the Philadelphia 76ers in November of 2018. Initially, Butler had no problems coming back to Target Center. The Sixers beat the Wolves in his first game back, in January 2019.

Jimmy Butler afraid to play the Minnesota Timberwolves?

But after being traded from Philly to Miami, Butler lost his next two games back in Minneapolis (Apr. 2021, Nov. 2021). That’s when he must have decided he no longer likes playing at Target Center anymore. Because every time his team has been back since November 2021, Jimmy has found a way out out of the lineup.

Whether the excuse has been rest, illness or injury, Butler has refused to play basketball in MN against the Wolves for 3.5 years. That’s four full seasons of avoiding the Target Center fans. But really, he doesn’t like to play the Minnesota Timberwolves at all anymore.

Since November 2021, Jimmy Butler has only played the Wolves one time. It came in Miami back in December, 2023. That too ended in a Timberwolves win. Hmm, I am starting to understand why Jimmy doesn’t like playing against his former team. But starting tonight, there’s nowhere for Butler to hide.

Anthony Edwards onto his next superstar funeral…?

Anthony Edwards has already sent plenty of superstars packing in the NBA playoffs. His list includes Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and LeBron James. He would be adding Steph Curry to that group with another series win, and Minnesota would make consecutive trips to the Western Conference Finals.

The Thunder are the clear favorite at every sportsbook, and they are projected to be on a collision course with the Boston Celtics. However, the Towns-led New York Knicks knocked off Boston in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday night. The Nuggets did the same in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Anthony Edwards taking out legends one-by-one:

❌ Kevin Durant
❌ LeBron James

Stephen Curry next? pic.twitter.com/rxTePjrIEe

— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) May 1, 2025

The Timberwolves can’t afford to get too far ahead of themselves. However, if they can advance another round and make things interesting against the Thunder, a ring doesn’t seem all that far-fetched.

Can the Timberwolves really do it?

Any assumptions that the MN Timberwolves will float easily by Golden State is a dangerous one. Even as slight favorites, they are in a similar spot as Los Angeles was prior to coming up short in round one. And we don’t have to mention how good we felt this time last year, entering the West Finals vs Dallas.

Related: MN Timberwolves President Pushes Back Against Rumors

If they can get it done, however, Vegas seems convinced that their next round opponent will be the Thunder. Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and the rest of Mark Daigneault’s roster is scary. They have seven players that averaged double-digits this season, and SGA is always a threat to be handed 30 free throws in a game.

The Wolves did split the season series vs OKC, but that would all go out the window if they meet in the Western Conference Finals. Again, that’s getting ahead of ourselves. All we know now is that this Minnesota Timberwolves team is coming together at the right time. It’s still a long shot, but why bet against them now?

One player who’s also surprisingly making his Olympic basketball debut is Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry, who’s been injured and disinterested in the past. But with time running out on the 36-year-old future Hall of Famer’s career, Curry’s joining the crew this time around.

We’re glad he is because he’s already providing entertainment by talking some trash to Kermit Wilts Anthony Edwards. Except this time, it has nothing to do with their ability to play ball. Instead, Curry was trying to diss Edwards’ ability to play ping pong. But Ant, one of the most confident athletes we’ve ever seen, wasn’t having it.

Related: This Just In: Anthony Edwards Dominates in Water Too

Stephen Curry thinks Anthony Edwards would get smoked in ping-pong, Ant disagrees

We’ll let the video below do most of the talking, but notice how serious Anthony Edwards is throughout the whole clip. Ant, who appears to be getting interviewed, gets interrupted by Stephen Curry talking some smack.

Curry says something along the lines of, “Ant, they said they could smack you, 21-nothing.” Ant responded by being in disbelief.

The matchup we didn't know we needed! 😂

It's @theantedwards_ vs. @usatabletennis.

📺: @NBCOlympics & @peacock#ParisOlympics | #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/ucZQY1oUhF

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 27, 2024

Ping pong, water polo, basketball, it doesn’t matter. Edwards feels like he can take on the greatest athletes in the world. I don’t know about you, but we’d tune in to see the Minnesota Timberwolves superstar try his hand at ping pong.

Would he score a point though? That’s up for debate, but he doesn’t think so.

Related: 10 Greatest Minnesota Timberwolves Players Of All-Time

If he can make the cut, Ant would join a star-studded American cast determined to squash talk around international basketball community that Team USA may no longer be the once-dominant force that “Dream Teams” of years past built them into.

Anthony Edwards appears poised to make star-studded Team USA Olympic roster

The likes of Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid, and Jayson Tatum are anticipated to lead the superteam representing Team USA. As per Shams Charania of The Athletic, Tyrese Halliburton, who partnered with Edwards last summer, is also under consideration as a possible addition to the team this summer.

In addition to the seven bona fide heavyweights listed above, budding superstars Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton, two members of the USA’s 2023 World Cup team, are under strong consideration for the Paris Games, those same sources said.

Shams Charania – The Athletic

No players have been confirmed yet, but all of the players listed above have publicly committed to playing if they get picked. Veterans like Kevin Durant and LeBron James have publicly expressed their desire to join the team and clearly see this as their last run in the Olympics before they pass the torch to Anthony Edwards and the other blossoming stars across the league.

Related: Charles Barkley Would Give Anthony Edwards the Twin Cities and All Three MN Lakes…?

Former Piston great, Grant Hill, works as Team USA’s general manager and Sean Ford is his right-hand man. Just like at the World Cup, Steve Kerr will coach the team. It would be incredibly exciting to witness Anthony Edwards competing in the Olympics alongside superstars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry as they pursue a gold medal for Team USA.

Watching Anthony Edwards sport the red, white, and blue with the “USA” stitched across his chest last summer was special. Will we see it again in the summer games? We’ll soon find out.. (but it sounds like the answer is yes).

ANTHONY EDWARDS OH MY GOODNESS 🤯#USABMNT vs. Germany on FOX pic.twitter.com/2rkOTlv9Pu

— NBA (@NBA) August 20, 2023

Anthony Edwards goes to work in the second half 👀#FIBAWC x #WinForUSA pic.twitter.com/yyJHSx0bhM

— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) September 1, 2023

Related: Anthony Edwards Credits Timberwolves Win to Rudy Gobert Cussing Out Teammates at Halftime

Both guys have brought a level of professionalism off the court and defensive accountability on the court that has unlocked the true talents of Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns. Conley wasn’t just the key to unlocking Gobert, he was the key to unlocking the entire team.

Rudy Gobert makes LeBron James, Steph Curry level impact?

But when asked by NBA insider Mark Medina (Sportskeeda, Sportsnaut, FOX Sports Radio) about his friend Rudy Gobert and why he was snubbed from the All-Star game, Conley said it’s disappointing to see the league dismissing Rudy because he is the one who makes the Wolves go. That Rudy makes just as big of an impact on winning as, wait for it, LeBron James and Steph Curry.

“I think he’s not treated like a superstar because he doesn’t do the superstar things, offensively, that LeBron [James] and Steph [Curry] do. But he has the same impact on a game. People gameplan for him like they gameplan for others. You gameplan differently for Steph as you do for somebody else. But with Rudy, you do have to gameplan for his gravity offensively. If he goes to the offensive glass, they’re bringing two or three people. Knowing the film session, they are saying, ‘You got to box out. All three of us have to be there. We have to be in the paint.’

Mark Medina – Sportskeeda

Is Mike Conley crazy?

At face value, we might see fans and players across the league lose their minds over a comment like this one. Conley comparing Rudy Gobert to LeBron and Steph may seem insane to casuals.

Related: Rudy Gobert Says He’s a Hall of Famer, Is He Right?

But in reality, Gobert brings such an insane improvement to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ defense and rebounding, not to mention the maturity and accountability he brings to the locker room, that it’s impossible to deny the effect he has on winning.

Fuck it, Rudy Gobert Perimeter Defense highlights pic.twitter.com/KopSGY38Lh

— Ev (@EvInFour) February 13, 2024

In fact, you could argue that in 2024, he has a greater impact on winning than Steph and LeBron, because neither of their teams are winning at near the level of the Wolves. While Minnesota sits atop the West, it’s the Lakers and Warriors who are struggling to remain in the play-in tournament conversation.

Anthony Edwards in STACKED field for 2024 USA Olympic Men’s Basketball Team

On Tuesday, they announced the 41 players who will be trying out and it’s a star-studded list that includes LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Devin Booker, Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Chet Holmgren, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell and Trey Young, among many other top NBA players.

USA Basketball player pool of 41 finalists that will be used to select the 12-player roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris: pic.twitter.com/Bs1yqnQDQD

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 23, 2024

The 2024 Summer Olympics are being held in Paris, France. The United States has been slipping a little bit in the eyes of the international basketball community and it’s pretty clear by this list that American players are ready to put that idea to bed.

Related: Anthony Edwards Reminded NBA World vs Grizzlies That He is the Future

Nonetheless, I’d expect Anthony Edwards will make the team, given he was the face of last year’s summer team. Not to mention, he’s a better basketball player in 2024 than at least a handful of veteran superstars who will surely make the final roster.

Their lack of focus and energy wasn’t a surprise, after everything that happened a couple of states away one night earlier. Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels were tossed for trying to rip each others’ jerseys off early in the 1st quarter.

Draymond Green was ejected too, and later suspended, for putting Rudy Gobert in a 10-second sleeper hold (that Adam Sandler is surely proud of) that quickly diverted attention away from the original kerfuffle.

pic.twitter.com/FVgqh7Zg9f

— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) November 15, 2023

Rudy Gobert Says Draymond Green ejections are Steph Curry related

Related: NBA Insider: Minnesota Timberwolves are Serious Title Contenders in 2023-24

When the dust settled and everyone was ejected accordingly, Minnesota went on to defeat Golden State in a game that was way closer than it should have been, given the Warriors were without their core three players.

In the postgame Wolves locker room, the Gobert vs Green drama got meatier when Rudy called Draymond’s headlock “clown behavior”. But the cherry on top came when the Timberwolves big man floated his theory regarding the intent behind said clown behavior…

Rudy Gobert on the Draymond Green headlock:

"It’s kind of funny because before the game, I was telling myself that Steph is not playing, so I know Draymond is going to try and get ejected. Because every time Steph doesn’t play, he doesn’t want to play – it’s his guy Steph. He’ll…

— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) November 15, 2023

Steph Curry was ruled out of the Timberwolves vs Warriors game, just a few hours prior to tip-off, because of knee soreness. Is it really possible that Draymond Green hates playing without Steph Curry so much that he actively pursues ways out of games without “his guy”?

That putting Rudy in a sleeperhold while he was trying to break up the fight between Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels was nothing more than Green seizing an opportunity to go watch the game back in the locker room with Steph? Big if true…

Turns out, Gobert is right…

And what do you know, it looks like Gobert’s accusations are rooted in truth. Of course, the internet did some digging on Draymond’s past ejections and guess what they found…? According to ClutchPoints.com, seven of the last eleven (64%) Draymond Green ejections have come in games where Steph Curry wasn’t playing.

Rudy Gobert just exposed Draymond Green, and the stats back him up.

After Draymond was ejected for putting Gobert in a chokehold, Gobert claimed he knew it would happen because of Steph Curry.

"Every time Steph doesn't play, he doesn't want to play without his guy Steph, so he… pic.twitter.com/mo1iSuXiiN

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 17, 2023

Apparently, the first of those last eleven ejections came vs Rudy Gobert’s Utah Jazz, meaning the now Wolves center has been paying attention to this odd phenomenon for years.

The (8-3) Minnesota Timberwolves will look to rebound from their loss vs the Suns, on Saturday, when the play in New Orleans vs the Pelicans.

Read all of our Timberwolves blogs

Before either team scored a point, Jaden McDaniels and Klay Thompson started tossing each other around by their jerseys and Draymond Green went full Diamond Dallas Page on Rudy Gobert, jumping in out of nowhere to put him in a 10-second headlock good enough to get him a call from Vince McMahon this morning, I’m sure of it.

Watch/Read More: Draymond Puts Gobert in Sleeper Hold During Wolves vs Warriors Scuffle

Rudy Gobert calls Draymond Green’s headlock “clown behavior”

And after the win, Rudy Gobert didn’t hold back on his feelings toward Draymond Green, calling the headlock “clown behavior” at least three times in the Wolves locker room, after the game.

Rudy Gobert called Draymond Green’s headlock “clown behavior” three times when asked about it in the locker room

— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) November 15, 2023

Was he surprised by Green’s actions though? Of course not. Who would be, at this point? He does have a theory for the “why” in Draymond’s actions, though. Gobert theorizes that Green did what he did because he wanted to get ejected.

Did Draymond Green get ejected on purpose because Steph Curry wasn’t playing?

Why did he want to get ejected, you ask? Well, according to Rudy, it’s because Draymond always tries to get ejected when his best buddy Steph Curry, who was out last knight because of a knee sprain, isn’t playing. Big if true…

“It’s kind of funny because before the game, I was telling myself that Steph is not playing, so I know Draymond is going to try and get ejected. Because every time Steph doesn’t play, he doesn’t want to play – it’s his guy Steph. He’ll do anything he can to get ejected… Clown behavior, and I’m proud of myself for being the bigger man again and again.

And yeah, doesn’t even deserve me putting my hands on him. My team needed me tonight. I did whatever I could to keep my cool and then show that I wasn’t making the situation worse, and I do hope that the league is going to do what needs to be done because that’s just clown behavior. Not much to say. It’s clown behavior.”

Rudy Gobert – Quote via Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA)

We’ll see what kind of punishment the league hands down later today. In the meantime, the (8-2) Minnesota Timberwolves have a basketball game today in Phoenix vs the below-.500 Suns

Featured Photo: @_JordanJimenez – Twitter