Timberwolves-Warriors Game 1: How to watch

Kevin Lynch previews Timberwolves-Warriors series

The Minnesota Timberwolves face the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals. Sunday night on FOX 9 Sports Now, Jim Rich previewed the series with Fan Duel Sports Network analyst Kevin Lynch.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The NBA’s Western Conference Semifinals are set, and the Minnesota Timberwolves will have home court advantage over the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors beat the Houston Rockets in Game 7 Sunday night, setting the stage for the Timberwolves and Warriors to battle for a spot in the Western Conference Finals. The Timberwolves are looking to get back there after being eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks last year, one step away from the NBA Finals.

Game 1 – How can I watch?

What we know:

The Timberwolves host the Warriors in Game 1 Tuesday night at Target Center. Tip is set for 8:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on TNT.

What about the rest of the series?

The schedule:

Here is a look at the schedule for Games 2, 3 and 4:

• Game 2: Thursday, May 8 at Minnesota — 7:30 p.m. CT on TNT
• Game 3: Saturday, May 10 at Golden State — 7:30 p.m. CT on ABC
• Game 4: Monday, May 12 at Golden State — 9 p.m. CT on ESPN
• Game 5: Wednesday, May 14 at Minnesota — TBD start on TNT
• Game 6: Sunday, May 18 at Golden State — TBD
• Game 7: Tuesday, May 20 at Minnesota — 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN

The storylines

The backstory:

There are plenty of storylines heading into this series. The Timberwolves went just 1-3 against the Warriors this season, and Game 1 will be the first time the Timberwolves have played the Warriors with Jimmy Butler.

We all know the story with Steph Curry by now. The Timberwolves passed on him not once, but twice in the 2008 NBA Draft. They instead took Ricky Rubio No. 5 overall, and Johnny Flynn No. 6.

Butler was traded to the Timberwolves in June of 2017, and lasted a little more than one year. He forced himself out of Minnesota after leading the reserves to a practice win over starters at a practice was followed by an outburst.

Then there's Draymond Green, who Timberwolves' fans love to hate. He gave them public criticism as a TV analyst last year, choked Rudy Gobert in an in-game incident and will likely do whatever he can this series to get under Minnesota's skin.

What’s at stake

Why you should care:

The Timberwolves can get one step closer to the NBA Finals. A series win over the Warriors would send them to the Western Conference Finals, where they would face the Oklahoma City Thunder/Denver Nuggets winner.