Warriors 4: 3 and there are 4 good news after advancing! Can the Timberwolves be eliminated? Su Qun Barkley has a consistent view

After the tiebreak between the Warriors and the Rockets ended, the first round of the league series finally ended. The Warriors did not disappoint and defeated the young Rockets 103:89 away. In this game, the Warriors once again demonstrated the strength and responsibility of superstars. Curry used his super restraint to make his teammates, especially Hilde, explode completely, and scored 9 three-pointers in a single game. Curry broke out in the second half. Facing the tough defense of a group of strong players such as Amen Thompson, he showed his super scorer ability. He scored 19 points in the second half, leading the Warriors to win this precious victory, and then advanced to the next round to face the Timberwolves.

In this game, the Rockets could still deal with the Warriors in the first three quarters, but at the critical end of the fourth quarter, the Rockets made consecutive mistakes. At 3 minutes and 33 seconds, Van Jordan pushed Butler in the defense, so Butler got the opportunity to throw two free throws. He not only made two free throws, but also scored two points in the offense, helping the Warriors lead by 14 points with 88:74. The Rockets then made a mistake, Curry made a three-pointer, Hilder made a three-pointer, and the Warriors scored a 12:0 in 1 minute and 24 seconds, which suddenly widened the score difference to more than 20 points, directly confusing the young Rockets at critical moments. In the end, the Rockets had no hope of turning the game and regrettably lost the game at home.

Van Jordan, who broke out for three consecutive games, finally returned to normal today, with 6 of 13 shots in the game scoring 17 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Although Shin Kyung contributed 21 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists, he made 9 of 23 shots and made many singles mistakes in the fourth quarter, which made fans' expectations for him fail. Jaylen Green lost himself even more under the Warriors' tough defense. In this game, he made 3 of 8 shots, scoring 8 points and 4 rebounds inefficiently. Fortunately, Amen Thompson scored 24 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists on 9 of 16 shots, which made people see the hope of the Rockets soaring next season. The reason why the Warriors can win is that the core performance of their core is crucial, and there are 4 good news after the game. The first good news is that Curry, the core of the Warriors, can still play as a superstar level when facing the Rockets' epic defensive entanglement, which is admirable. In this game, Curry made 45 minutes into the game, made 8 of 16 shots, and made 4 of 10 three-pointers, scoring excellent data such as 22 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Curry was also the oldest defender in NBA history with 20+ points in the 37-year-old and 52-day tiebreaker. His previous record was 20 points scored by Jamal Crawford at the age of 37 and 41-day.

When faced strict defense in the first three quarters, Curry scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and ushered in an explosion. He finally led the team to defeat the Rockets and completed a refreshing victory. It is worth mentioning that at the last moment of the game, Curry also made a "good night go home" posture, and this scene was very exciting. It is worthy of praise for Curry's performance in both offense and defense today. He also became the fourth player in NBA history to score 20+10+5+2+2 in a single game, standing side by side with James, Bird and Olajuwon. Curry also eliminated the Rockets in the playoffs for the fifth time in his career. In his career, the Warriors maintained a record of winning all the games against the Rockets' playoff series.

The second good news In this game, Hilder, Curry and Butler of the Warriors scored 20+ points. So far, for the first time in the history of the Warriors, three players scored 20+ points at the same time in the tiebreak. Especially Hilder's performance today is extremely brave. He made almost every shot outside the three-point line. Except for a teammate's three-pointer, he made 9 of 10 three-pointers, which is quite amazing. He scored 22 points in the first half and made 6 three-pointers to help the team establish a double-digit advantage. In the fourth quarter, Hilder scored another 11 points, allowing the Warriors to escape from the away game. In the whole game, Hilder made 12 of 15 shots, 9 of 11 three-pointers, scoring 33 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks, with a plus-negative value +17, among which the score, three-pointers and positive and negative values ​​are the highest in the game, and the blocks tied for the first place. Of course, Butler also showed his perfect second-in-command style. He stood up when the team was in a difficult situation and performed with a highlight. He scored 20 points and once again proved that he was born for the playoffs.

The third good news is that the Warriors will compete against the Timberwolves after advancing to the second round. In the regular season confrontation with the Timberwolves, the Warriors achieved a record of 3 wins and 1 loss. In the first game, the Warriors lost to the Timberwolves 90:107, and in the next three games, they defeated the Timberwolves 114:106, 113:103 and 116:115 respectively. Especially after Butler joined, they completely brought a tough temperament to the team. This season they almost swept the Timberwolves. Although the Timberwolves are younger and have the superstar Edwards in charge, the Warriors are not afraid of the Timberwolves. The fourth good news is that the Warriors and the Timberwolves enter the next round with the following gramme. The Timberwolves defeated the Lakers as the No. 6 seed to advance, and the Warriors defeated the Rockets as the No. 7 seed to advance. This has happened in NBA history in a total of three times. The first two times were the No. 7 seed defeated the No. 6 seed in the second round. The most recent one was in 2023 when the Lakers eliminated the Warriors 4:2, which also gave the Warriors a certain confidence to win. They are very likely to defeat the Timberwolves and the Thunder to meet in the Finals.

At 9:30 am on May 7, 2025, the Warriors will challenge the Timberwolves away, and the Warriors also have their own advantages in this round of playoffs. First of all, the Warriors have rich playoff experience. Whether it is Curry, 37, Green and Butler, 35, they can make calm decisions at critical moments, and their leadership on both offense and defense and grasp of details are very critical. At the same time, head coach Kerr also has rich playoff experience. Under his leadership, the Warriors have never been eliminated in the first round..

Secondly, the Warriors have strong outside firepower. In addition to Curry, there is also a group of shooters led by Hilder. They made 42 three-point shots throughout the playoffs, ranking first in the league. If they can continue the three-point shooting experience in the tiebreak battle against the Rockets, they will definitely be able to crack the Timberwolves' joint defense and disrupt the Timberwolves' defensive rhythm with their strong firepower from the outside. After all, compared with the Rockets' double towers and joint defense tactics, the Timberwolves' defense quality is definitely lower. The third advantage is that the Warriors' offensive and defensive system is quite mature. After years of hardship, Coach Cole of the Warriors has tailored a perfect offensive and defensive system for players such as Curry. Curry can score through pick-and-roll, and when encountering double-teams, he can also use his powerful "Ku has gravity" to create more opportunities for his teammates to shoot three-pointers. Furthermore, after Butler joined the Warriors, their offensive level was more three-dimensional. Butler's super singles ability and strong killing ability made it difficult for the opponent to take into account. He is the backbone to protect the Warriors.

Facing the second round of the Warriors and the Timberwolves, Teacher Su Qun also directly stated in his comments after the game that he was optimistic that the Warriors could win a victory in the first game, which would lay the foundation for subsequent games. With Curry, the Warriors' superstar, everything is possible. Of course, Barkley also said bluntly that the Warriors have rich playoff experience. Facing Edwards, the young superstar, Curry and the Warriors don't want to be eliminated too early. He is also optimistic that the Warriors will win this series.

However, the Timberwolves are by no means a weak team without any chance of winning. Huazi in the team showed amazing talent and impact, and changed the direction of the game many times during the regular season with his own strength. He is young and full of fighting spirit. Facing a strong enemy like the Warriors may inspire him to have stronger potential.

The Timberwolves' inside strength should not be underestimated. Gobert and Randall have their own unique features in the inside attack and rebounding protection. The combination of his two internal and external lines with Edwards can bring great tests to the Warriors' defense. Moreover, the Timberwolves have accumulated enough game experience this season, and young players have been learning lessons as they grow up, and they are eager to prove themselves on a big stage like the playoffs.