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The Golden State Warriors' season came to an end after the Minnesota Timberwolves took Game 5 to win the series 4-1. The Warriors absorbed a 121-110 loss to bow out of the postseason. It's worth noting that Golden State was carrying championship hopes, especially after bringing in All-Star Jimmy Butler into the fold during the trade deadline to maximize Stephen Curry's closing window.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. One of the factors that altered the series in favor of the Timberwolves was Curry's hamstring strain that he suffered in the series opener. Without Curry, the momentum of the series changed, as the Warriors just couldn't find their stride for the rest of the way. While losing your star player is a major factor, that isn't exactly an excuse to surrender the series, given that there are 12 players on a basketball team. The blame certainly falls on key players who failed to step up.
Draymond Green's catastrophic Game 3
It's safe to say that Draymond Green was the heart and soul of the Warriors dynasty. As a result, his presence was all the more crucial, when Curry went down with an injury. The 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year was expected to anchor the team's defense and to serve as the locker room leader. While he did so for the most part of the series, his performance in Game 3 pretty much blew away Golden State's chances in this series.
After the series was knotted up at 1-1, the Warriors had a golden opportunity to steal Game 3. But in the tight affair, Green could only muster two points, two rebounds, and four assists while registering a -5 on just 1-of-4 shooting from the field overall. To make matters worse, he fouled out of the game with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Without him, the Warriors stared at an 18-15 scoring run by the Timberwolves, dropping a winnable game that pretty much decided the series.
Since losing Game 3, the winds pretty much blew out of the Warriors' sails. They lost Game 4, 117-110. Afterwards, Minnesota dominated Golden State in the series clincher by 11 points. Although Green's effort was there defensively, the absence of Curry required him to do a little more on the offensive end. Throughout the series, he only shot 20-of-52. He also averaged just 10.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per outing, which weren't the numbers that were going to save the Warriors-less Curry.
Jimmy Butler fails to take over
Given that Curry suffered an injury, it was only natural that people expected Jimmy Butler to step up as the temporary number one option for the Warriors. Besides, he's the same player that carried the Miami Heat to two NBA Finals appearances. Unfortunately, Butler didn't play like he was the face of the Heat. Instead, the Warriors received a passive Butler, who didn't get in the driver's seat.
In five games, Butler put up 20.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game while converting 43.0% of his shots from the field and just 30.0% from beyond the arc. While those were still respectable numbers, outside of Game 3, the six-time NBA All-Star was pretty much a regular player. In fact, after Game 1, Butler was -52 for the rest of the series. It's quite disappointing, given that he had a bone to pick against Minnesota, dating back to a beef that he started against a franchise he used to play for.
The Warriors couldn't afford Butler to play passive basketball, especially when their superstar was knocked out of the series. To make matters more heartbreaking, Golden State just needed Butler to play hero basketball for a few games to keep their season afloat, especially when Curry had plans to make a Game 6 return.
Buddy Hield fails to maintain his hot shooting touch
Buddy Hield's hot shooting was the X-factor that helped his team advance past the Houston Rockets in the first round. In fact, he had 33 points, spiked by nine 3-pointers in Game 7. And against the Timberwolves, Hield's shooting took effect once more in Game 1, when he registered 24 points, while going 5-for-8 from rainbow country. Unfortunately for Golden State, that was Hield's last decent game in the playoffs.
Without Curry, a lot of those outside shooting responsibilities fell on Hield. However, he failed to answer the call. After Game 1, Hield only made 23-of-64 from the field and 15-of-35 beyond the arc. He had a forgettable decisive Game 5, finishing with only eight points on 2-of-9 shooting and bricking all four of his shots from the 3-point region. Hield was a -38 after Curry went down with an injury.
