Game 1 Preview: Timberwolves vs. Warriors

The Minnesota Timberwolves begin their round-two matchup against the Golden State Warriors. Can Anthony Edwards and the Wolves make the most of their size and rest advantage to snatch Game 1 of the series?

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Golden State Warriors – Game 1
Date: May 6th, 2025
Time: 8:30 PM CDT
Location: Target Center
Television Coverage: TNT/TruTV/MAX
Radio Coverage: Wolves App/iHeart Radio

For just the third time in the 36-year history of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team is opening a second-round playoff series. That’s right. Three times in 36 years. We’ve had more Timberwolves jerseys redesigned than we’ve had second-round appearances. And this time, the Wolves are matched with opponent they’ve never faced in the postseason : the Golden State Warriors. A team whose modern era has defined basketball greatness, memes, chaos, and 74% of all youth basketball shots taken from 30 feet and beyond.

The Wolves are coming off a dismantling — no, a soul-snatching — of the Los Angeles Lakers in five games. The media didn’t just pick against Minnesota. They didn’t even pretend to consider them. ESPN? Lakers in 5. NBA Twitter? Lakers in 6. Everyone outside of the 612 area code just assumed LeBron and Luka would moonwalk through the series.

But then came “Ant-Man. Batman. Superman.”

Wolves in five.

Golden State, on the other hand, is limping into this second-round matchup. They held a 3–1 lead against Houston. And unlike Minnesota — who slammed the door on LeBron and Doncic with a Rudy Gobert-sized exclamation point — the Warriors proceeded to give away games 5 and 6 before surviving Game 7 by the skin of Buddy Hield’s teeth. So now they arrive in Minnesota tired, bruised, and just hours removed from a Houston rock fight. Not exactly ideal. Steph Curry might need an IV of espresso shots before halftime.

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s been resting. Hydrating. Studying film. Charging their emotional iPhones back to 100%. They even have home-court advantage now, thanks to the seeding gods. The Wolves didn’t just beat L.A., they earned the right to open Round 2 at Target Center — a fact that’s borderline hilarious given how close this team was to the Play-In just weeks ago.

Let’s just take a second to reflect on this: If you’d told any Timberwolves fan in early January that their team would not only avoid the Play-In but knock off the Lakers and then host Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler in a second-round opener, they would’ve asked if you’d just gotten out of cryo-freeze from the KG-Spree-Cassell era.

That’s how much has changed. And now the table is set. The Wolves are rested, dangerous, and clicking in a way that few teams in the league are right now. But the food’s not going to eat itself. Let’s get into the keys to Game 1.

1. Turn Up the Pace — and the Heat

Golden State just got out of a seven-game bar brawl with Houston. The Rockets beat them up in the paint, chased them off the line, and played like a team that wanted to turn every possession into a scene from “Gladiator.” Now the Warriors have to fly north, recover in less than 48 hours, and keep up with the Wolves — a younger, deeper team with fresher legs and a fully fueled Anthony Edwards. This is where Chris Finch has to hit the gas. Make Jimmy and Draymond run. Make Steph chase screens on defense. Force Kerr to dip into his bench by the second quarter. Play fast, play loose, and make them feel every one of their 35-year-old hamstrings.

2. Feed the Three-Headed Frontcourt Monster

Let’s be real: Golden State doesn’t have the size to handle Minnesota’s frontcourt. Draymond is tough and savvy, but he’s giving up inches and weight to Gobert, Randle, and Reid. Minnesota has a real opportunity to feast on the boards — get easy putbacks, lobs, and keep second-chance points rolling. Gobert finally unleashed his full self in Game 5 against L.A. — the 27-24 “I’m still here” game. Randle continues to bully opponents like he’s late for a flight. And Naz? Naz is the kind of Swiss army knife off the bench that the Warriors don’t have answers for. Pound the rock inside.

3. Don’t Let Steph Go Nuclear

Obvious, right? But just because it’s obvious doesn’t mean it’s easy. If Steph gets hot — and I mean full-on Reggie-in-the-Garden hot — he can win a game by himself. We’ve seen it. In his sleep. And when he does, he doesn’t just score; he shifts the axis of gravity for everyone else on the court. The key is what Houston tried (and sort of failed) to do: stay physical, don’t give him space off the ball, and switch smartly. This is where the Wolves’ depth on the wing comes in. Jaden McDaniels will get the lion’s share of that assignment, but expect Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jaylen Clark, and even Ant himself to get reps here. And keep an eye on Buddy Hield and Podz — if the Wolves overcommit to Steph, those two can cook in the margins.

4. Don’t Take the Draymond Bait

This one’s for Rudy. Don’t do it. We all know what’s coming. Draymond is going to talk. He’s going to pull. He’s going to grab. He’s going to bait Rudy into one of those scuffles that earns a double-technical and gives the Warriors a reason to celebrate. But the Timberwolves are better than that. Rudy is too valuable to get tossed or pick up cheap fouls because Draymond wants to turn this into a psych ward. The Wolves hold numerous advantages in this series. They can’t foolishly give them up by letting their emotions get the best of them.

5. Ant’s Time to Cook

Anthony Edwards didn’t just beat the Lakers. He rearranged the narrative. Game 3? Closed it out like a slasher movie. Game 4? That was a full-blown opera — 43 points and a fourth-quarter that will live in Wolves lore. Game 5? Not his best shooting night, but the gravity he created let everyone else eat — including Rudy, who devoured the paint like it was an all-you-can-eat buffet. That’s what makes Ant so dangerous. He doesn’t need to score 35 to dominate. His presence shifts the entire geometry of the court. And now, in a high-profile battle with Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler, with the nation watching — again — this is where he cements his standing as one of the league’s next great playoff killers.

So here we are. Wolves-Warriors. Round two. Game one. This is the kind of series we dreamed about back in the Rasho Nesterovic era. Minnesota’s not a fluke. Not a cute story. They’re a freight train with a charismatic conductor and a bunch of guys who know how to hoop.

Tonight, we find out if that train can steamroll through the defending dynasty and into the next chapter of Timberwolves playoff history. Buckle up. This one’s going to be wild.