With Stephen Curry sidelined, all eyes turn toward Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green, the remaining two-thirds of the Warriors’ leadership triumvirate. They’ll need to be producers, directors and stars.
Curry’s absence also brightens the spotlight above Buddy Hield, whose once-supplemental scoring becomes vital. He has been a savior the past two games, and cooling off now would cripple the offense.
But whatever the three veterans provide will not be enough for the Warriors to remain competitive in the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Any team trying to win a playoff series, much less make an extended postseason run without its best player, needs production from its support group.
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SIGN UP HERE “We have Jimmy and Draymond quarterbacking both sides of the ball,” Curry told reporters at the team’s pregame shootaround Thursday. “Buddy’s playing at a high level. And then the committee of guys who are going to fill in the rotation.”
If ever there was a time for Golden State’s “committee of guys” – with emphasis on the recent first-round draft picks – to make their presence felt, it is now, beginning Thursday night in Game 2 against the Timberwolves.
Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga are as germane to the fortunes of the Warriors as the three veterans in the starting lineup. None has reached his 23rd birthday, but this is an opportunity for them to, um, grow up. To give their team more offense than they have generated through the first eight games of the playoffs.
Podziemski, who has started seven of the eight games, is shooting 36.3 percent from the field, including 32.7 percent from beyond the arc. Moody has played in all eight games, with two starts and is shooting 36.4 percent, 34.3 percent from distance. Kuminga, mostly out of the rotation, has appeared in four games with one start, and is shooting 32.1 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from deep.
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The young men in whom the Warriors most invested to shape their future are shooting a cumulative 35.6 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from beyond the arc. And many of the misses are with clean looks. If this inefficiency continues, the offense will die in these.
And that death would be so exasperating, it’s bound to affect Golden State’s most indispensable and reliable element.
“We're going to rely on our defense,” Curry said. “We know that. Even if I'm out there, that's our calling card. There's a lot of confidence that the guys can maintain and sustain that level. We know Minnesota is going to come back motivated to get a win on their home floor.
“But over the course of the series, we feel like we're in good shape.”
The inconvenient truth is that poor offense in basketball often begets preoccupied, or indifferent, defense, especially with young players. Repeatedly missing shots leads to all manner of unwanted regressions, everything from becoming tentative on one end to losing focus on the other.
Conversely, young players making shots at a satisfying rate tend to muster more energy to defend.
“This stuff generally comes down to the energy, the spirit. How hard you play and then stepping up and making some shots,” coach Steve Kerr said.
Facts, across the board.
Curry’s absence raises the “making some shots” component to a more urgent level. His 25 or more points will be missed, and losing his gravity will result in fewer clean looks.
That’s where Butler comes in. He has a gift for maximizing the talent around him, particularly on offense, by simplifying things for his teammates. His work in Miami, leading rotations heavy with undrafted players – Caleb Martin, Kendrick Nunn, Duncan Robinson, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, etc. – certified him as one of the NBA’s best leaders.
Butler, Kerr and Green have three first-round picks to work with. Every game without Curry will offer assessments of the youngsters, identifying what they can offer now and perhaps beyond.