Second-round schedule doesn’t give Warriors much rest
The Warriors will play every other night for the first five games of their series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. If they want a break, they’ll need to force a Game 6.
Steph Curry played 46 minutes and Jimmy Butler played 45 in the Golden State Warriors’ Game 7 win over the Houston Rockets. They’re not getting a lot of time to recover in the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Here is the series schedule for Warriors and Timberwolves. It opens on Tuesday night in Minnesota and has only one day off between Games 1 through 5. pic.twitter.com/CRNlUCXI9j
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 5, 2025
Roughly 48 hours after the end of Game 7, the Warriors tip off their second-round series in Minneapolis. If the veteran Warriors want a break to rest up, they’ll have to win at least two of the first five games and force a Game 6, at which point they will get three days off, which will primarily be spent sitting in ice baths, applying generous amount of Icy-Hot, watching game film while lying in hyperbaric chambers, and podcasting.
It’s an advantage that the Timberwolves earned by dispatching the Los Angeles Lakers in five games, giving them five days off before the second round began. The Wolves were helped by some rest issues in that series, albeit self-inflicted ones by the Lakers. With an extra day off between Games 4 and 5, Lakers head coach/podcaster/poet JJ Redick didn’t substitute for the entire second half. Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, LeBron James and Luka Doncic both got hurt in their elimination game loss.
By contrast, the Warriors needed seven games to dispatch the Rockets, played four starters 40 minutes or more in the climactic game, and battled food poisoning, swollen thumbs, pelvic contusions, and close proximity to Dillon Brooks on their way to a tough win.
The Timberwolves have a good defense, but not quite as relentless and exhausting as facing the Rockets was. They also have a backup center that kills the Warriors — Naz Reid instead of Steven Adams — though while Adams beats up the Warriors physically, Reid tends to specialize in emotionally-daunting clutch three-pointers.
But the schedule does mean that Steve Kerr will likely have to expand his rotation to give the his stars some rest, at least early on. Assuming Gary Payton II is no longer sick, Jonathan Kuminga still has some confidence remaining, and Buddy Hield’s burn cream helps him heal after being on fire for hours Sunday night, the Warriors should have interesting options against the Wolves.
Still, the team needs to make sure they’ve got plenty of caffeine available. Is there anyone on the roster with a vanity line of coffee who could help them out?