IT’S IN THEIR GRASP - Pioneer Press

NBA WESTERN SEMIFINALS GAME 2: TIMBERWOLVES VS WARRIORS >> 7:30 TONIGHT AT TARGET CENTER, TNT (WARRIORS LEAD SERIES 1-0)

IT’S IN THEIR GRASP

Stephen Curry’s hamstring injury is unfortunate, and a major gift for Wolves

Minnesota‘s Rudy Gobert, center, reaches for a rebound over Golden State’s Draymond Green (23) during Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Tuesday night at Target Center. ABBIE PARR — ASSOCIATED PRESS

Golden State’s Stephen Curry walks off the court Tuesday night, and his injured hamstring will keep him off the court until at least Game 5. CARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ — SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE VIA AP

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Stephen Curry will miss at least a week with a hamstring strain suffered in the second quarter of Golden State’s Game 1 victory over the Timberwolves on Tuesday in Minneapolis, putting the superstar guard on the shelf at least until Game 5.

Realistically, the Warriors’ target return date for Curry is likely Game 6, which would give Curry the full 10 days often required to return from such a Grade 1 hamstring strain. That means Minnesota could end the series before the Warriors’ superstar guard ever returns to action.

That’s why sportsbooks have the Timberwolves as a larger favorite to win the series now than they were even prior to dropping Game 1. Golden State sans its star guard — the axis for entire offense — is likely a .500 team, or worse.

Yes, the Warriors have Jimmy Butler, still a brilliant basketball player. But he’s not capable of physically carrying a team to the degree he could even two years ago. Sure, Golden State is elite defensively, but you do have to score to win basketball games. The Warriors are quickly running short on guys capable of doing so.

Golden State is in big trouble, and Minnesota is the beneficiary.

Hey, it’s part of the game. There’s a reason Timberwolves general manager Tim Connelly has always said the goal is just to be a top-four seed in the playoffs. Because if you can position yourself to win in the first round, anything can happen from there with injuries and matchups.

Connelly has lived it first hand. There’s a fair chance he would have won a ring in Denver had the Nuggets not been without Jamal Murray in consecutive postseasons. Minnesota may have a 2004 NBA championship banner hanging had Sam Cassell not gotten injured that year.

Mike Conley’s 2021 playoff run with top-seeded Utah was derailed by, yes, a hamstring injury.

Kawhi Leonard had the Spurs up by 23 points in the third quarter of Game 1 in the West finals against the Warriors in 2017 before a severe ankle sprain sidelined him for the rest of the series. Golden State went on to sweep San Antonio and win the NBA championship.

Two years later, Leonard and the Toronto Raptors beat Golden State for the championship after Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson went down with major injuries in the NBA Finals.

Curry’s injury sets up the Timberwolves for advancement to their second consecutive Western Conference finals. If Minnesota doesn’t get there now, it has only itself to blame.

This isn’t a random night in February in which Minnesota lets its guard down against a team missing a couple of key players. This is the playoffs. Talent always wins out over the course of a best-of-seven series. The Wolves’ roster now laps the lineups Golden State can trot out without Curry.

Buddy Hield has been great for Golden State, but he’ll now be a focal point of Minnesota’s defensive gameplan. That’s a different ballgame. Jaden McDaniels noted Wednesday he’ll now guard Hield in the same way he attempted to guard Curry, by removing all air space.

Good luck with that, Buddy.

There was a contest last season against a severely undermanned Dallas team in which Minnesota face-guarded Tim Hardaway Jr. — who had scored 36 points in a game two days prior — because he was the Mavericks’ only legitimate shooting threat that evening.

Hardaway Jr. went 2 for 10 from distance, and Minnesota won by 34.

Golden State gutted out a win Tuesday in which it was spotted a 10-point advantage when Curry exited. Winning future games in the series from Square 1, with Minnesota positioned to specifically stop the Warriors’ available personnel, will likely prove to be the steepest of uphill battles.

Understandably, local supporters will view the current situation with their guard up. They’ll brace for the worst, citing Minnesota’s struggles against short-handed teams in recent seasons.

But if the Timberwolves can’t muster up the necessary discipline and purpose to come out on a nightly basis and execute at the level required to win games against a team at a significant talent disadvantage — with a spot in the NBA’s final four on the line — then everything will need to be re-evaluated this offseason.

The Wolves caught a massive break on Tuesday, not the type of one any team wishes to receive, but it certainly should take advantage of. A failure to do should be viewed as nothing less than a catastrophic failure.