The 3-point line proved the difference for the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, having outscored the visitors by 39 from beyond the arc in a 99-88 victory at Target Center.
The Warriors shot 18-of-42 (42.9%) from 3-point range in Game 1, but that may not be sustainable moving forward after confirmation Stephen Curry will miss multiple games due to his hamstring strain.
A team that already lacks multiple perimeter threats just lost the greatest shooter of all-time, and it could force Steve Kerr into going back towards rookie center Quinten Post for extended minutes in order to find some spacing.
Quinten Post's minutes have been on the decline for the Warriors
Draymond Green proved a difference-maker in the first-half with four threes as part of 18 points for the game, but that's not something Golden State can really rely upon moving forward. While Golden State emerged from Game 1 with victory, you feel as if Minnesota would be comfortable with allowing 23 combined 3-point attempts from Green, Jimmy Butler and Brandin Podziemski.
In fact, you have to wonder who the Timberwolves would be scared of from the perimeter beyond Buddy Hield, with the veteran sharpshooter going 5-of-8 from deep in Game 1 after his stunning 9-of-11, 33-point performance against the Houston Rockets in Game 7 of the first-round series.
Butler, Green, Gary Payton II, Jonathan Kuminga and Kevon Looney are all players not known for their 3-point shooting, while Podziemski and fellow youngster Moses Moody are a combined 7-of-27 (25.9%) from distance over the last three games.
With Curry out and a lack of 3-point shooting elsewhere on the roster, perhaps Kerr will have to go back to Post who was the Warriors' leading distance shooter by percentage (40.8%) during the regular season.
That percentage has dropped to just 30.8% in these playoffs to date, resulting in Post losing his minutes as Kerr places greater faith in the more experienced Looney. After averaging 19.3 minutes during the first six games of the series against the Rockets, Post has played less than 10 combined minutes over the last two games. In comparison, Looney has played 25 minutes and been important in both road victories.
Yet Post's 3-point shooting may not only become more important in Curry's absence, but it could be critical in trying to draw Rudy Gobert out of the paint. As good as Looney was during the fourth-quarter of Game 1, there were multiple times where Butler drove straight into Gobert hanging around the paint, with no other choice but to kick it out to Looney on the perimeter who had to go straight into a dribble hand-off.
The Warriors will likely have to find a different way to win rather than rely on the 3-point differential, but their ability even just to win that facet may require more minutes for Post than what we've seen over the last two games.