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Even after a very impressive Game 7 NBA Playoffs win on the road against the Houston Rockets, the Golden State Warriors don't have any time to admire their work. After getting through a brutally physical series, the Warriors will kick off the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves just 48 hours after leaving the Toyota Center victorious in the win-or-go-home contest.
On the other hand, the Timberwolves have been off for a full week after dispatching LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in a minor upset in the first round. On paper, the older Warriors with much less rest could come in tired and sluggish, but players on both sides aren't buying into that narrative.
Golden State star Stephen Curry has been through this plenty of times before, and he is looking at a possible silver lining for the short rest, via Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area.
“Feeling good we got through it,” Curry said, per Johnson. “Emptied the tank in Game 7 like you’re supposed to, but it’s nice to actually keep a rhythm.”
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On the other side, the Timberwolves have their antennas up and are not sleeping on the Warriors even after they struggled with the Rockets. Big man Rudy Gobert knows that the most successful core of this era has been through this too many times to be counted out, via Chris Hine of The Minnesota Star Tribune.
“These guys are winners, competitors, and there’s a lot of talk about them potentially being tired – they’ve been playing every other day,” Gobert said. “They’re professionals; they’re in a great rhythm; they’re not going to be tired.”
The extra rest hasn't worked out for any of the other three home teams that started their series in the second round on Sunday and Monday.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder all find themselves in a 1-0 hole and without home-court advantage after a game despite having a rest advantage over their opponents, so the Timberwolves have to be focused in Game 1.
This is an intriguing matchup because the two teams have not played each other since the Warriors traded for Jimmy Butler back in February, so it's hard to know exactly what to expect. However, on paper, this is a very even matchup and should make for an entertaining series with a spot in the Western Conference Finals on the line.
