LATEST May 13, 3:30 p.m. The Warriors have officially ruled Steph Curry out for Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Timberwolves, putting any hope to bed about Curry potentially returning to try to help save the Dubs from elimination.
May 13, 12:10 p.m. The Warriors knew they had to get one win in Games 2 to 4 to get Steph Curry as much time to rest as possible. Now that they’ve failed that mission, Curry is about to face a true dilemma.
It’s only been a week since Curry suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain in Game 1 against the Wolves, an injury which typically requires at least a full week of rest before any possible ramp-up to try to return to action. So far, Curry and the Dubs have been saying all the right things about his injury, even after losing three in a row.
“Nah, we’re not going to Superman this thing. If he’s in a place where he can play, I’m sure he will,” Draymond Green told reporters after Monday’s Game 4 loss. “Him and Rick [Celebrini] and everybody will figure that out, but we don’t need Superman. You got to play the long game, so, if he can, we know he will, but there’s no pressure. We got to figure out how to win whether he plays or not.”
Curry relayed a similar message to Andscape’s Marc Spears: “Even if I wanted to be Superman, I couldn’t.” He also told Spears he doesn’t expect to play in Wednesday’s Game 5.
But no reporter knows Curry better than the Athletic’s Marcus Thompson — he wrote the (first) book on the superstar, after all. On the “Warriors Plus Minus” podcast he co-hosts with San Francisco Standard columnist Tim Kawakami, Thompson said he thinks Curry will do what he can to play on Wednesday because of the opportunity the Warriors have in this postseason.
The Cavaliers and Celtics are both banged up and facing elimination in the East, the Thunder and Nuggets are tied 2-2. The Warriors are down in this series, but Thompson said the little flash of excellence they had in Game 1 when Curry played, combined with the other results, may be a huge temptation for the star.
“Every day, this increasingly looks like a realistic possibility to win a championship,” Thompson said. “… The Warriors could beat these guys with Steph Curry, they believe that 100%. This might be on the table. I think Steph might try to play. I really think he might try to play.”
Kawakami immediately pushed back at Thompson, kicking off a lengthy debate between the two over the podcast’s final 12 minutes. (The other portion of the triumvirate, Anthony Slater, wasn’t on the podcast because he was already en route to Minnesota.)
As Thompson sees it, there’s no guarantee that these Warriors will ever get closer to winning a fifth title than they are right now. Thompson said on the podcast that Curry told him after Game 4 that he feels better than he thought he would this soon after the injury. Kawakami thinks pushing to play Game 5 still isn’t worth the potential risk.
“It could last into next season, if you tear it. And then it could be a persistent [thing], it could be the beginning of the decline of his career,” Kawakami said. “I don’t think you push it.”
Thompson thinks it may just be a 5% chance of Curry playing, but ultimately, both men agreed that the final decision-maker won’t even be Curry himself, but Warriors’ head of player health and performance Celebrini.
“He’s going to make the decision that’s best for Steph,” Thompson said of Celebrini. “Steph’s life, Steph’s career, Steph’s sanity. That’s why they love him, he’s going to do that. But man, he’s going to get a challenge.”
The Warriors and Timberwolves play Game 5 on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on TNT.