Kurtenbach: Steve Kerr’s Game 1 masterpiece gives the Warriors a chance without Steph Curry

The Warriors win on Tuesday wasn t just a show of strength in numbers No the Warriors Contest triumph was shock and awe When Steph Curry left the opening matchup of the Warriors Western Conference Semifinal series against the Minnesota Timberwolves Golden State had a five-point lead with minutes to play So how did they lead by as various as points and never see the margin get within eight even as Minnesota made a furious fourth-quarter push It took everyone and everything It was a championship effort with championship heart But make no mistake about who authored it Yes it was the players on the court Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green Buddy Hield and Gary Payton II Pat Spencer and Kevon Looney The Warriors rolled deep on Tuesday But the Match win was organizational the kind of supremacy you can only credit to a winning civilization It was a credit to Warriors coach Steve Kerr The man has four championship rings as a coach for a reason and it wasn t just being in the right place at the right time Sure he might be considered a hapless rube by a certain attention-starved edgelord venture-capital tweeter but he turned in a brilliant coaching performance Tuesday It wasn t absolutely because he went deep into his bench No it was the Dubs match plan from the opening tip attack a Minnesota defense that was ill-prepared to handle the Warriors relentless off-ball movement all while leaving a bad half-court offensive band that lacks a viable point guard to try to deal with through Golden State s zone defense with Green running the show in the middle Minnesota was at a tactical disadvantage all championship They couldn t figure out the Dubs and Kerr s constant substitutions and adaptations only made matters more complicated for the home gang Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry gestures during the first half of Championship of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday May in Minneapolis AP Photo Abbie Parr Related Articles Stephen Curry update Hard to imagine Warriors star will be ready for Event Jimmy Butler-led Warriors steal Meeting from Wolves after Curry leaves with injury Stephen Curry leaves Warriors playoff meeting vs Timberwolves ruled out Warriors Buddy Hield has wardrobe malfunction in Championship vs Timberwolves Warriors Steph Curry expects bruise-it-out series with Timberwolves Unrested and frankly uneasy heading into Match after a Meeting win on Sunday in Houston Kerr planned on having a deeper rotation for the contest A new series means new combinations and going deep into the bench gave the Warriors the added benefit of providing tired legs a bit of a rest But do you know anything about Braxton Key Well he was on the court for the Warriors at the end of the third quarter In all Kerr played Warriors Tuesday He played in the Warriors Oct preseason battle Not all the minutes were created equal Moses Moody is so deep into a funk he might require an exorcism Gui Santos nearly four minutes were eminently forgettable Quinten Post played half a quarter and only had one rebound to speak for it but was plus- But on a night without their superstar the Warriors saw winning performances from Buddy Hield who scored vital second-half points including a dagger Spencer a G-League guard whose second-half minutes were a lifeline to the gang Kevon Looney who spelled Green and kept the Warriors defense at the same level and even Jonathan Kuminga who for the first time in months looked as if he understood what Kerr and his coaching staff have been begging him to do The Warriors didn t see Curry go down and yell Save us Jimmy No they saved themselves They were empowered to do so And while Curry s injury has turned this series on its head so has the Dubs Meeting win Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield celebrates during the second half of Competition of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday May in Minneapolis AP Photo Abbie Parr Related Articles Jimmy Butler-led Warriors steal Championship from Wolves after Curry leaves with injury Warriors Buddy Hield has wardrobe malfunction in Challenge vs Timberwolves Warriors Steph Curry expects bruise-it-out series with Timberwolves Kurtenbach The Warriors face a massive disadvantage familiar script at start of second round How to watch Warriors-Timberwolves Meeting Curry won t play in Event and it d be reckless to suggest that he ll be back for Event or even at this moment Word from Minneapolis is that Curry s limp was anything but minor He ll have an MRI on Wednesday And while the Warriors have won in the playoffs without Curry before that was in and These Warriors impressive as they might look in the Butler era are not the -win Dubs or the league-ruining Warriors of two year later That s why despite stealing home-court advantage on Tuesday the Warriors odds of winning the series in Las Vegas only went from plus- to plus- The Timberwolves are still favored Under normal circumstances the Warriors would carry negative odds following that win Curry looked poised to cook the Wolves for -plus points in Match as somehow four-time Defensive Athlete of the Year Rudy Gobert was put in the twilight zone against the Warriors high ball screens Curry had points in minutes played But because the Dubs were able to hold on Tuesday they gave themselves a lifeline They can afford to drop Event And Curry looked so lethal that they can likely afford to have a lesser version of him should he be able to return to this series The Warriors have to expect that this is going to be another long drawn-out series and that s the best-case scenario It will take specific masterful coaching to manage it all the way through It s a good thing the Dubs have a master at the helm