The Golden State Warriors just got some massive series-altering news, as Stephen Curry is expected to miss at least a week with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, per ESPN. The exact timeline is unclear and will depend on how Curry heals with treatment.
It’s a significant loss for the Warriors, who stole Game 1 on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday night. Curry exited in the second quarter and did not return with a strained left hamstring. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry will undergo an MRI on Wednesday to determine the severity of the strain, and while he didn’t know it at the time, he did note that it was unlikely he would play in Game 2. Now that’s a certainty.
“We’re definitely game-planning for him to not be available on Thursday, but we don’t know yet,” Kerr said after Tuesday’s game. “With a hamstring, it’s hard to imagine that he would play Thursday.”
Curry got off to a fast start with 13 points in his first 13 minutes in a game the Warriors went on to win by 11 points. After hitting a 3 on one end, Curry appeared to suffer the injury on defense. He managed to stay in the game and hit another push shot on Golden State’s next trip down the floor, but then he asked out of the game and went straight to the locker room with a noticeable limp.
Here’s a look at what happened:
“I talked to him at halftime. He’s obviously crushed,” Kerr said of Curry. “The guys picked him up and played a great game. And obviously we’re all concerned about Steph, but it’s part of the game. Guys get hurt, you move on. Our guys did a great job of moving on and getting a great win 48 hours after a Game 7 road win. It’s an amazing group of guys. They compete. They’re together. They’ve been the best defense in the league since the Jimmy trade and that’s what’s keeping us afloat right now.”
With Curry out at least a week, that puts his earliest possible return for Game 5 (May 14) or 6 (May 18). And that’s looking on the bright side of things, his rehab could take longer than that, which means the Warriors could be without him for the remainder of the series.
Even up 1-0, the Warriors are still underdogs (+152 to win the series at FanDuel) against the Wolves, and Curry’s extended absence will only heighten those odds. They will hope that he can return later in the series, but this was their sixth game in 11 days after a rock fight of a seven-game series in the first round with the Houston Rockets. The Rockets were extremely physical with Curry, who is 37 years old. These things add up.
The Warriors will certainly need to lean more on Jimmy Butler as the series continues. Butler finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists on 20 shots in Game 1, and he has one of the best postseason pedigrees in basketball after leading the Heat to the Finals in 2020 and 2023.
With Stephen Curry injured, the Warriors need Jimmy Butler to flip the scoring switch
Brad Botkin
“Jimmy’s capable of carrying a team,” Draymond Green said. “He carried a team to the Finals twice. We won’t panic.”
