The Golden State Warriors will have to go without their franchise face as their latest championship run continues.
The Golden State Warriors will have to be warriors as their latest championship continues against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Per Shams Charania of ESPN, superstar guard Steph Curry will miss at least one week of playoff action after he was diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain following the Warriors’ 99-88 win in the Tuesday opener of their conference semifinal. Curry left the game early in the second quarter after scoring 13 points in 13 minutes.
Golden State is seeded seventh in the Western Conference bracket and is coming off a seven-game series victory over the Houston Rockets in the opening stanza.
Four games are scheduled on the Warriors-Timberwolves docket over the next seven days: the series continues on Thursday in Minneapolis (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT) before moving to the Bay Area on Saturday and Monday. Assume Golden State doesn’t earn a sweep, Game 5 will be next Wednesday back at Target Center.
The basketball world is used to seeing unique firsts from Curry, but it likely won’t appreciate this one. The uncertainty around the injury centers over the fact that this is the first muscle strain he has endured over his lengthy career.
“I think we all want 30 back, that is for sure,” Jimmy Butler told to ESPN. “But we want him to do his best for himself, best for our group. Until then, we can hold down the fort. I know we can.”
Game 2 of the Timberwolves series will mark Curry’s first postseason absence since 2018, when he missed the entire first round of the Warriors’ sixth championship run with a sprained MCL. He returned two games into the conference semifinal win over New Orleans.
With Curry out, the Warriors primarily turned to Gary Payton II, who did a little bit of everything (8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) in just under 26 minutes, his busiest playoff workload since 2023’s conference semifinal round.
Curry’s injury will be one of the most closely watched injury reports in recent times, as many feel the Warriors have a legit shot at the NBA Finals in light of OKC’s struggles as the best regular reason team in the Western Conference. For Curry, he has his eyes set on a run at NBA title No. 5, a run that came a reality after the mid-season trade for Butler.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
