The Golden State Warriors had a thin margin for error entering the second round of the NBA playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves as an undersized and older team coming off a seven-game battle that left them considerably less rested.
Stephen Curry’s hamstring strain, which will keep him out at least a week (meaning almost certainly through Game 5) rendered that margin a barely visible sliver on any pie graph hoping to chart a path to victory for Golden State.
And should Draymond Green, or any other meaningful Warriors’ starter/contributor miss any time moving forward, asking Golden State to win this series is like asking Steve Kerr and company to literally do the impossible.
However, that’s the position Green could put the franchise in at some point over the next few games after he incurred yet another technical foul during the first half of Game 2 against the Timberwolves in Minnesota. Anthony Slater of The Athletic laid out the problem Green and the Warriors face moving through the remainder of this series, and should they advance to the Western Conference Finals, through the rest of their playoff run.
That'll be Draymond Green's fifth technical foul of the playoffs. Two from a one-game suspension. Probably what the Warriors needed least tonight.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 9, 2025
“That’ll be Draymond Green’s fifth technical foul of the playoffs,” Slater wrote. “Two from a one-game suspension. Probably what the Warriors needed least tonight.”
Draymond Green’s Latest Technical Foul Served no Purpose for Warriors
It’s hard to say there is ever a good time to get a technical foul, though one can craft an argument that a head coach or star player doing so to protest a long-standing imbalance in officiating during a series or perhaps as a motivational tool to shock the rest of the bench awake is a justification.
On Thursday night, however, Green’s technical appeared born merely of frustration. The Warriors trailed by double-digits in the second quarter when Naz Reid of the Timberwolves committed a foul on Green during the regular course of game action.
Green reacted in animated fashion and ended up making contact with Reid’s head during the process. The end result was a standard foul on Reid and a technical foul on Green.
Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green Must Play Nearly Perfect for Warriors to Succeed in Stephen Curry’s Absence
How the Warriors win without Curry is a puzzle that will take some serious solving, near-perfect execution on Golden State’s part and, most importantly, stellar defense.
The Timberwolves will be able to mitigate “playoff” Jimmy Butler to a greater extent without Curry in the lineup changing the very geometry of the floor. Minnesota will be able to keep strong perimeter defenders on the 35-year-0ld Butler while also using their size to clog the paint and protect the rim during Butler’s attempts at penetration of the defense.
Players like Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski, Gary Payton II and Moses Moody must regularly connect on 3-point attempts to keep Minnesota’s defense somewhat honest. But even then, it’s going to be difficult for the Dubs to score enough to keep up with the Timberwolves.
Minnesota struggled shooting in its Game 5 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Round 1, which closed out that series, as well as in Game 1 of Round 2 against the Warriors. Part of the Timberwolves’ problem was simply poor shooting luck. They have shot well below their expected field goal percentage across the previous two games and will almost certainly progress back toward the mean in the contests to come.
For Golden State to have a chance to keep Minnesota’s offense in check, Green will have to be available as the Warriors’ defensive captain and engine. That means potentially 22 more quarters with only one technical for Green if he wants to avoid suspension.
He eared five technicals in the previous 34 playoff quarters coming out of halftime against Minnesota in Game 2 — numbers that do not read in Golden State’s favor.
