MINNEAPOLIS – Steph Curry’s ailing hamstring is on the mend, but the Warriors star’s sense of humor is healthy as ever.
“I’m feeling great,” Curry said Thursday morning during the Warriors’ pregame shootaround, before adding. “That’s sarcasm.”
Curry spoke for the first time since he was ruled out until at least week with a left hamstring strain. The Warriors play Game 2 of thewir Western Conference playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night.
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Curry later added, “We have a chance to keep doing something special, but an injury always hard emotionally, because you know none of this is guaranteed.”.
Curry injured his left hamstring early in the second quarter of Tuesday’s Game 1 victory at Target Center. He was subbed out a few moments later and never returned in the Warriors’ 99-88 win.
An MRI on Wednesday revealed Curry suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain, which means he’ll be out until at least Game 5.
It is new territory for Curry, who has missed time during previous playoff runs with various other injuries but has never had a strain of this kind.
“I’ve never dealt with this before,” Curry said. “If it was my ankles or anything else, I’d be able to tell you pretty quickly that I know by a set date that I’ll be good,” Curry said. “(For this) I don’t want to set any expectations other than I want to feel better each day as I go.”
Curry said that patience is key to healing from this injury.
“This is new, and from all that I’ve learned about how quickly I can get back, is that there has to be a healing process,” Curry said. “The way the body works, you can’t accelerate it more than what it’s telling you.”
He said that the team, which won Game 1 and guaranteed homecourt advantage regardless of what happens in Game 2, is still optimistic even with his prolonged absence.
“The vibe in our locker room, in terms of trying to hold the fort down, is that we have a lot of confidence we can still win the series, and that guys will step up no matter how it looks,” Curry said.
He repeatedly stressed that rushing back from the injury could lead to more harm, and that decisions will be made after a week of rest and recovery.
“I know with how tricky hamstrings can be, that they can fool you into thinking it’s healed, even if you don’t feel anything,” Curry said. “So it’s that gray area that’s confusing.”
Curry said he is not participating in even light shooting drills at this time.
With their superstar sidelined, the Warriors hopes of advancing appear dim. However, the team does have a track record of succeeding in the postseason sans Curry.
Golden State is 9-3 all-time in the playoffs without Curry, though it’s worth noting that his two prior playoff injuries came during the Warriors’ dynastic run as the NBA’s most dominant team.
They were the West’s No. 1 seed in 2016, coming off the best regular season (73-9) of all time, and the No. 2 seed in 2018 as defending champions after adding megastar Kevin Durant.
The team is nowhere near as talented or deep, but still possesses another star in Jimmy Butler, who coach Steve Kerr and Curry have endorsed as someone the team will rely on down the stretch against Minnesota.