The Golden State Warriors are already down 1-0 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in their Western Conference Semifinal series.

Not literally, no. But practically? Absolutely.

You see, the Timberwolves did this funny thing when they went up 3-1 in their first-round series with the Lakers: They won Game 5.

As you might recall, the Warriors punted Game 5 of their series with the Houston Rockets. Then, they lost Game 6 at home, forcing a “rock fight” Game 7.

The Dubs won that game, but at what cost?

Winning in Los Angeles was part of a larger trend for the Wolves, who have been sitting in Minneapolis for nearly a week, waiting for an opponent to show itself. Minnesota won eight of its last nine regular-season games to claim the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, avoiding the play-in tournament.

The Warriors “playing with their food”? Well, that’s been a trend, too.

The Warriors lost three of their last five regular-season games, forcing them to play a play-in game, followed by a seven-game series.

It all means that rest disadvantage in this series is massive.

It could well be the differentiating factor in a series that, under normal circumstances, should be much more favorable for Golden State, but is by no means easy.

Minnesota has played five games since April 13 and has five days of rest before and after their first-round series. The Warriors have played eight since then and had only four days of rest before their first-round series, with a single travel day before this second-round showdown.

Meanwhile, Steph Curry’s injured thumb isn’t going to heal so long as he’s playing, and Jimmy Butler’s injured tuchus might improve, but playing through an injury that should have sidelined him for a week or two probably isn’t great for recovery. Meanwhile, Draymond Green remains incapable of giving the Dubs back-to-back great games (a fact that’s been steady since the 2022 playoffs), and the Warriors’ role players have proven to be game-to-game question marks.

There are matchups to like for the Warriors in this series against Minnesota. Both the Warriors and Lakers play small ball, but Golden State’s motion on offense should actually attack the Timberwolves’ big men, Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle (unless Minnesota wants to try a zone defense they have not practiced all season). The Dubs’ brand of zone defense might just be kryptonite to a Wolves team that found its success against the Lakers by having Anthony Edwards relentlessly attack Luka Dončić when the latter was on defense.

But those tactical wrinkles pale compared to the somatic issues at hand for Golden State.

The Dubs are going to be climbing uphill the whole way this series.

The first round (if not the play-in game or regular-season finale) proved the Warriors don’t have enough players to trust in this situation. Jonathan Kuminga is persona non grata, Quentin Post’s usefulness waned as the first round progressed, and Moses Moody is in a deep, uncomfortable funk. The Dubs needed Buddy Hield to save them in Game 7, but his success is hardly guaranteed. And if only Joe Lacob had invested in a player combiner machine — Brandin Podziemski’s offense and Gary Payton II’s defense would be a perfect combo guard.

Here’s who the Warriors can trust off their bench going into Game 1:

Kevon Looney.

That’s it.

And I wouldn’t be shocked if the Warriors started him in this series.

There’s no player like Minnesota center Naz Reid on the Dubs’ bench. And the Warriors have been chasing after a Donte DiVincenzo since he left after the 2023 season.

And that 2023 postseason might prove to be prescient. You remember Curry’s incredible Game 7 against the Kings in the first round — a 50-point outburst for the ages.

But you might have forgotten that the Warriors, after one day of rest, were beaten in Game 1 of the second round, punting home-court advantage, and dispatched in six games by a well-rested Lakers team, which needed five-and-a-half games (Game 6 was a blowout win) to claim their first-round series.The Lakers came to San Francisco with three full days of rest. The Dubs played two games (including Game 7) in that stretch. The Dubs were “visibly exhausted” in Game 1. They were down 3-1 in the series before losing in 6 to lose their first Western Conference playoff series since 2015.

I suppose the good news is that this series starts on the road and a playoff series doesn’t really start until a home team loses. That Warriors-Lakers series was on from the jump.

But for a team that effectively punted a close-out Game 5 in the first round because of rest, it’s an inauspicious circumstance.

The Warriors are coming off an every-other-day stretch with long travel and going into a series where the same thing is true until after Game 5 (when the league will give both teams three days off). That has to be worth a game for the younger, fresher Timberwolves.

Which leaves the Warriors needing to win four games to Minnesota’s three.

Can they do it?

Of course.

But coming off a series that “took everything out of us to get [it] done,” per Curry, the same will be asked again.

How much more do they have left to give?

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