The Golden State Warriors are down and Stephen Curry is out for Game 5, unable to return from a strained left hamstring that sidelined him in Game 1.
Facing a 3-1 deficit against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals, the Warriors are without Curry for the potential elimination game on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Curry missed the Warriors’ losses in Games 2, 3 and 4 against the Timberwolves.
After Game 4 on Monday in San Francisco, Curry told Andscape regarding the possibility of him returning for Game 5, “Even if I wanted to be Superman, I couldn’t.”
The “Superman” remark referred to a comment by Golden State’s Draymond Green after the Warriors’ 117-110 loss on Monday.
Asked about Curry’s possible return in Game 5, Green said, “No, we’re not going to Superman this thing. If he’s in a place where he can play, I’m sure he will. Him and Rick (Celebrini, the team’s vice president of player health and performance) and everybody will figure that out. But we don’t need (Curry to try to be) Superman.
“Gotta 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.”
Curry got hurt in the second quarter of the series opener, but the Warriors won that game 99-88. They were blown out in Game 2, took a close loss in Game 3, then saw the Timberwolves pull away in the third quarter of Game 4 before the final score made the contest appear closer than it was.
In the Warriors’ seven-game win over the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, Curry averaged 24 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists. He had 13 points in less than a half against Minnesota in Game 1. During the regular season, he averaged 24.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and six assists.
The 11-time All-Star, two-time Most Valuable Player and four-time NBA champion is the league’s all-time leader in 3-pointers. He has 4,058 career treys, nearly 900 more than the next player on the list, James Harden.
–Field Level Media
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