Warriors' Steve Kerr Explains Minute Management for Green, Butler in Game 2 Loss

[ASFN Admin]

In their first postseason game since Stephen Curry suffered a grade one hamstring strain, the Golden State Warriors fell to defeat. They lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 93-117, on Thursday, May 8. Steve Kerr made the interesting decision to protect both Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler by managing their minutes throughout the contest.

During his postgame news conference, Kerr explained his reasoning for protecting his two veteran stars, especially now that Curry is sidelined with injury. The championship-winning head coach admitted that had the Warriors been within touching distance down the stretch, both veterans would likely have played more.

"I didn't want to push it with Draymond or Jimmy," Kerr said. "I didn't want to chase this game unless it was really gettable. And we obviously made a push in the second half. But first half, we went into the game thinking we're playing a lot of people, short burst minutes, and try to protect Jimmy and Draymond. They've been playing huge minutes every other day, flying all over the country. So we had to weigh that."

The Warriors are now tied 1-1 with the Timberwolves. The series is still wide open for both teams. Golden State is likely trying to tread water until thier superstar guard is cleared to return to the rotation. However, in his absence, Kerr will likely continue to experiment with his rotations, substitution patterns and minutes management.

Nevertheless, keeping Butler and Green fresh for deeper in the series is likely a smart call. Neither forward is in their prime at this point in their respective careers. As such, picking and choosing when to lean on their production will be a key aspect of Kerr managing his team's overall fitness, health, and ability to be impactful. As such, it will be interesting to see how much both Butler and Green play in game three on Saturday, May 10.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Steve Kerr Explains Minute Management for Green, Butler in Game 2 Loss

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