Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry does not expect to return to the court Wednesday for Game 5 of their second-round series with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears on Monday night.
“Even if I wanted to be Superman, I couldn’t,” Curry said, referring to his left hamstring injury. Curry was responding to Draymond Green’s comment about how he wouldn’t try to “Superman this thing.”
Stephen Curry Suffered A Grade 1 Left Hamstring Strain In Game 1
With Curry sidelined, Golden State lost 117-110 to Minnesota in Game 4 on Monday in San Francisco. The Warriors now face a 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven series and must win Game 5 in Minneapolis to keep their season alive.
Curry suffered a Grade 1 left hamstring strain in the second quarter of Game 1 on May 6. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the 11-time All-Star would miss at least a week, and he will be reevaluated Wednesday.
If the Warriors manage to win Game 5 on the road, that would give Curry an additional three days of recovery before a potential Game 6 at home on Sunday.
“If he’s in a place where he can play, I’m sure he will. Him and Rick [Celebrini, Warriors vice president of player health and performance] and everybody will figure that out,” Green said.
“But we don’t need [Curry to try to be] Superman. Got to play the long game. If he can, we know he will. But there’s no pressure. We’ve got to figure out how to win whether he plays or not.”
Warriors Have Dropped Three Straight Since Curry’s Injury
With Curry out in Game 4, Golden State was outscored 39-17 in the third quarter. Jimmy Butler, who played 43 minutes and had 33 points in Game 3, attempted only nine shots and finished with 14 points and six rebounds in Game 4.
“He wasn’t as aggressive tonight,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Butler. “But I didn’t see a lot of openings, either. Ideally, we could put more shooting around him to open up the floor a little bit.
“But with Steph out, we’re not going to be able to do as much of that. “We’ll look at the tape and see where we can find some openings for him. And I know, he’ll be aggressive for Game 5.”
Prior to his hamstring injury, Curry was averaging 22.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.0 steals, and 35.1 minutes through eight playoff games this postseason. He was also shooting 47.7% from the field and 40% from 3-point range.