The Golden State Warriors are planning to play without Stephen Curry for at least the next three games of their second-round series against Minnesota, after an MRI exam on 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 Tuesday night forced him out early in second quarter of Game 1, which they went on to win 99-88. He had 13 points in 13 minutes to help Golden State build a comfortable lead and take home-court advantage away from the Timberwolves.
Timberwolves, FanDuel Sports North television analyst and former NBA player Jim Petersen tells WCCO's Chad Hartman that the Wolves have struggled this season against teams that appear undermanned, noting losses to Indiana and Washington earlier this year when those teams were ravaged by injuries.
Petersen says it is incumbent the Wolves don't overlook Golden State and come out ready to play a team at full-strength.
"So, I'm just gonna say stay prepared and redouble your efforts against the guys who have a chance of hurting you," Petersen explains. "And Buddy Hield is a guy that can shoot the basketball and he can get on the hot streaks, and he certainly was in game one."
Hield torched Minnesota 24 points on 5-for-8 shooting from 3-point range, something you normally expect from Curry, but showing the Warriors go a little deeper too. And that starts with Jimmy Butler who dominated the game late.
"Steve Kerr, his coaching ability and these guys, I think Jimmy Butler gives them a backbone and another guy that can that can control the game as he did in the 4th quarter of that game," notes Petersen. "He counted for all 19 of those points, he was like a quarterback, he controlled the pace, he controlled everything."
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 missed multiple games because of injuries during the 2016 and 2018 playoffs, absences the Warriors endured on their way to the NBA Finals. They lost to Cleveland in seven games for the 2016 championship, and they swept the Cavaliers in 2018 for a third title in four years.
This Golden State roster hardly stacks up to those predecessors, however, when Curry and Draymond Green were much younger and other standouts like Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala were integral to their success. In 2018, they had Kevin Durant, too.
For now, the Warriors were feeling good about the all-hands-on-deck effort led by Butler, Hield and Green in Game 1, in which coach Steve Kerr played 12 different players.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.