MINNEAPOLIS — The Golden State Warriors are planning to play without Stephen Curry for at least the next three games of their second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA playoffs after an MRI exam Wednesday confirmed a mild strain of the star guard’s left hamstring.
The Warriors said Curry would be sidelined at least a week after the injury on Tuesday night forced him out early in the second quarter of Game 1, which they went on to win 99-88. He had 13 points in 13 minutes to help Western Conference No. 7 seed Golden State build a comfortable lead and take home-court advantage away from the sixth-seeded Timberwolves in the best-of-seven series.
“Every year the playoffs are about adapting, whether it’s a game plan or an injury or a lineup, so we just have to adapt,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We’ve done this before, and we’re confident we can do this again.”
Game 2 is in Minneapolis on Thursday, before the series moves west to San Francisco for Game 3 on Saturday and Game 4 on Monday. The earliest return for Curry appears to be Game 5 on May 14, which is conveniently followed by three straight off days before Game 6 on May 18.
Curry, 37, has never had a significant hamstring injury in his career, creating yet more mystery around the length of this absence and whether the Warriors can tread water long enough without the all-time leading 3-point shooter in NBA history to get him back near the end of the series. They’d be unwise to bank on that, though.
“We think we have the best defense in the league, and that’s been proven over the last couple of months,” Kerr said.
Curry, a two-time NBA MVP, missed multiple games because of injuries during the playoffs in 2016 and 2018, absences the Warriors adeptly endured on their way to the NBA Finals in both scenarios. They lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games for the 2016 championship, and they swept the Cavs in 2018 for a third title in four years. Without Curry during those two postseason runs, they went 9-3.
This Golden State roster hardly stacks up to those predecessors, however, when Curry and Draymond Green were much younger and other standouts such as Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson were integral to their success. By 2018, they had Kevin Durant, too.
For now, the Warriors were feeling good about the all hands on deck effort led by Jimmy Butler, Buddy Hield and Green against Minnesota in the opener, when Kerr used 12 players.
Without Curry, the ball will go through Butler on most possessions, as it did Tuesday. The six-time NBA All-Star, whose acquisition in a trade with the Miami Heat three months ago helped spark and solidify the Warriors on both offense and defense, had 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in Game 1. He scored 20 or more points in four of the five full games he played in during the first round, when the Warriors eliminated the second-seeded Houston Rockets.
“Everybody is live. Everybody who comes into the game is looking to make plays,” Timberwolves guard Mike Conley said. “So you have to be almost even more so locked in on the game and who you’re matched up with and the tendencies. Because they’re not looking for just Curry. Obviously, Buddy is going to be more aggressive, Jimmy is going to be more aggressive, but they’ve got guys who can put the ball in the hole, and they may try to do that collectively as a group.”