The Warriors‘ 99-88 Game 1 victory over the Timberwolves on Tuesday came at a big cost. Stephen Curry suffered a left hamstring strain in the second quarter and missed the second half.
“He’s obviously crushed,” coach Steve Kerr said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “But the guys picked him up and played a great game, and obviously we’re all concerned about Steph but it’s part of the game.”
Kerr doubts Curry, who will undergo an MRI today, can play in Game 2. Curry limped out of the arena and didn’t speak to the media.
“We don’t know yet,” Kerr said. “But with a hamstring, it’s hard to imagine that he would play Thursday.”
Forward Draymond Green is optimistic the team can hold its own until Curry returns, especially with another proven playoff performer in Jimmy Butler.
“Jimmy’s capable of carrying a team. He carried a team to the Finals twice. So we won’t panic,” Green said. “We will figure out what that means. We have the best coaching staff in the NBA. We know they’ll put us in a good spot and let us know what our offense looks like without Steph if we have to go on without him. We got full confidence in the guys that are on this team that we can make plays, can make shots.”
We have more on the Warriors:
- Bench contributions from Pat Spencer, Gary Payton II and Kevon Looney helped the Warriors to overcome Curry’s absence, Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes. Thrust into backup point guard duties, Spencer had two steals, two rebounds and a pair of key baskets. Payton, sidelined in Game 7 of the first round by an illness, played a bench-high 26 minutes and supplied four assists, five rebounds and eight points. Looney secured two late offensive rebounds.
- Butler and Buddy Hield dragged the Warriors to the finish line offensively. Butler finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and two steals, while Hield scored all but two of his 24 points after halftime. “I’m Batman today,” Hield quipped. “I saved the day.” Hield is in the first year of a four-year, $37.8MM contract.
- The Timberwolves and Warriors had the top two picks in the 2020 draft — Minnesota got a star in Anthony Edwards, Golden State swung and missed with James Wiseman. Slater offers details on the developments leading up to that draft, reporting that the Warriors had conversations about trading out, trading back and even the trading up for Minnesota’s selection before ultimately deciding to retain the No. 2 pick.
The sound you’re hearing is the sigh of relief from the Wolves fans.
37 yo hamstrings take time to heal.
I expect that wolves come out agressive tomorrow. They willbe attacking the basket and setting screens. When see the warriors do the same thing the wolves did in game 5 against the rockets. Doesn’t sound or look like Curry’s injury will keep him out for multiple games. He will sit out game 2 but he should be back game 3 or 4. Game 1 was a big win so they don’t need to rush him back.
@arc89
According to Shams, he will be out for at least a week. The likely best case is not until game 6
Curry’s injury was one risk Warriors always had along with Dray and Butler. They just played way too many playoff-like games down the stretch to get up in the standings. Hopefully, Curry will get a good rest, and maybe Butler will play reduced minutes in Game 2.
If T-wolves blow out warriors in game 2 kerr should do like he did in game 5 and play the bench to rest the older players.
If the Wolves lose to the no-Curry Warriors, that would be the most damning and embarrassing playoff loss in my memory.
It could easily happen especially if Warriors play like the way they played to open the season 17 – 4. Curry was injured in several of those wins. Warriors do have Championship DNA and know how to win.
Yes. I agree it’s plausible. Hield and Butler are both streaky and capable of carrying a team.
Doesn’t change the fact that Minnesota should be ashamed of themselves if they allow it to happen.
Why would the Wolves be ashamed of losing to Dray+Jimmy?
I think GSW are the favorites even without Curry.
@Michol and Melton back then was replaced by Jimmy now.
If GS things they pulled it out by scoring just 99 points they are fooling themselves. It was even good defense.
It was just terrible shooting. Just like Knocks thinking they have a chance because they barely beat a team that missed 45 3’s, so this series will go.
Great defense by the Warriors led to the T-wolves poor shooting.
The Wolves seem to have forgotten how to shoot threes. 15% vs a much worse Lakers’ defense in game 5 in the 1st rd, 17% last night.
Huge pressure to win game 2 likely won’t help their threes fall.
Seems like a double standard that Curry doesn’t have to speak to the media. Yet when anyone else does it it’s all we hear about. Guess it’s no surprise he gets special treatment…whatever.
Please. There isn’t a specific rule or policy in the NBA that mandates injured players to hold post-game media sessions. Other players have done the same, for example Booker after game 6 in the playoffs vs Denver – and he wasn’t injured.
Lil is still upset about an answer that Butler gave about an incident with Brooks during the 1st game of the Houston series. I think everyone else has moved, except for one person.
Well forgive me for having passion…everyone these days doesn’t care about anything thanks to tv and tok tok. Very much the whatever generation. I have emotion.
So you want a guy who is injured to do a media presser for what reason? SMH wheel the guy out in a wheel chair because we want to ask him questions.
I mean to ask all the stupid questions the media always asks. “How did you feel when you were injured?” “Do you think your injury impacts your team chances?” “What was going through your head when you were injured?” “Will this prevent you from doing more carfax commercials?” It’s all just for show and viral videos anyway. Just the double standard makes me sick. Whatever. Not my call to make. Disappointing? Yeah.
They probably had him in a ice bath but you think going to a presser is more important. I can’t think of players with big injuries wanting to do a presser.
Well I didn’t want to go to Helen’s family house for Easter but guess what you suck it up and pray she’ll take you back even if she also invited the other guy from church
@arc89: According to Lil D, players should be wheeled on a gurney into the press room to answer riveting questions such as “what did you think of the win” and “how hurt are you”.
The Warriors have beaten the T-wolves 4 times this season. The Warriors turned the ball over 22 times in their lone lose.
Kerr coached his assets off last night.
The warriors were fortunate Greymond hit a bunch of 3’s at times that didn’t allow the wolves to catch up and gain confidence.
Buddy showed up again. Not as hot as game 7 but his makes were timely.
The wolves were obviously rusty from their long layoff. 31 points for a half is not going to happen again. More likely that they have 31 or more points the first quarter of game 2.
Moses Moody REALLY SUCKS.
Thank goodness, Jonathan Kuminga gave the team a little lift when he came in.
Gary, I saw that one play with Moses Moody and it was awful. He has no business being out there other than a decoy for others. I thought of you and what baby J keep saying the last 6 months and laughed out loud when I saw it. Legit the most baffling and embarrassing play of these playoffs thus far for any team.
Steve Kerr had to go with Pat Spencer the lacrosse player for guard minutes !! That tells you everything doesn’t it?
He’s the 14th man on a 15 man team. So what does that make Moses moody? 15th man or is Key ahead of him in the rotation? We’ll see next game.
What happened to Moody? He was playing great before the playoffs now he can’t hit any shot at the basket?
This is what happens when you hype up role players into something bigger than they are. Moody is a 8-9 man and he’s been getting hyped in here like he’s the 2nd coming of Ray Allen lmao.
I don’t think anyone expects him to be a Ray Allen but just a solid starter. Now I am wondering if its allin his head. Has a bad game and can’t let it go. Still playing solid defense but his shot is way off.
Arc you are being too kind, you know someone damn well said multiple times in here that Moses Moody is an all star waiting to happen if Kerr gave him minutes. Lol
That person I ignore what he says because all he post are his feelings. When i called him out for his dumb post he then attacked me. So i now ignore most of what he says like other warrior fans here. He is one of those fans that get emotional instead of enjoying the game.
arc, this is not in his head.
This is all about Moody’s inability to play professional basketball in the NBA.
He’s turned into a nice shooter in the regular season against Utah and against New Orleans and against Portland.
But this is the playoffs. He’s too damn slow with the shot. Good defenses close out on that and it gets blocked as we saw several times just the last game.
He’s also too damn slow to drive around anybody he gets his s-yit blocked underneath because he picks up his dribble every time and gets caught in the air.
He just doesn’t have it. He shouldn’t be on the floor. I think Pat Spencer should play ahead of Moses Moody. Oh wait, that’s what happened last night !!
The horrible coaching job of putting in someone else instead of Moody won the game (along with a bunch of other key items all added up.)
I am more looking at Moody as a head case. He still can play good defense but his offense is so inconsistent. He reminding me of Oubre who you never knew what player was showing up for the game. The good player or the real bad player. I would rather see Spencer in there who brings a spark to the offense. At least have Spencer sub for Podz when he is not in.
arc it’s the playoffs.
Players who have the ability to do so will step up their game.
Players who have no clue look stupid out there and shouldn’t be on the floor.
That’s why rotations are tightened up. Every possession counts.
11th and 12th man shouldn’t have more than 5 minutes in the game. One of the reasons Kerr did good last night the wolves looked tired. I notice Ant was sweating all over mid 2nd period. Gobert and conley are older and needs to rest more. Playoffs is allabout match ups so using some players that match up against others is good.
Yes, that and they were rusty. I don’t think they’ll shoot that poorly again in this series.
Its going to be all on Finch next game. They will not shoot as poorly as they did last night but can Finch break the warriors defense to drive the basket? Warriors did not have a good shooting night besides hitting 3s. They missed a lot of easy baskets at the rim. shooting only 39%. the suprising stat is they were +10 on rebounds to a much bigger team.
Yep, and 18 offensive rebounds is WILD. I was like am I reading that correctly? I agree with you. Wolves need to have better shot selection too. I saw Edwards doing too much dribbling and hoisting a 3 up rather than them going into their sets. Absolutely appalling.
I was surprised there were only a few lobs to Gobert. He is a foot taller than the other warriors so why not try to n break up the iside game?
Do you guys agree that Looney/Post should be utilized more against Gobert? We all know Gobert has limited offensive basketball skills, maybe late in the game Kerr does Hack a Gobert?
Yes, Looney for his strength to push guys out of the lane, etc. and rebound.
I told you Post would be a non-factor in the last series but he is suitable for playing time in this series being a seven footer and can hopefully match up well with Rudy.
So he’ll get some minutes here. Maybe he’ll hit some shots too. That would be fantastic for the rookie. Not expected, but sure would be very helpful.
looney has steped up in the last 2 games. They will need both to compete in this series. I would put Post on Reid becaus ethey arethe same type of player. Both can shoot the 3 ball and both have defensive lapses at times.
Post cannot guard Naz. He’s a three-point shooter or will go right around him for layups.
You put Post on Rudy to box him out and provide length on rebounds.
haha, Gary. I was watching the game last night and was like who on earth is that? I had never seen Spencer before in my life. He gave solid minutes, though. Love the hook shots.
I call him Ty Jerome jr
raz there was like five of those. Just horrible. He has no idea what he’s doing around the basket.
All you have to do is watch Jimmy KEEP HIS DRIBBLE and keep going.., or if he picks up his dribble he already has a target wide open for either a 3 or at least an outlet pass available.
Moody often finds himself stuck in no man’s land with two 7 footers denying him any positive action at all. So frustrating.
Then there’s his play on the perimeter. He has no dribble drive because he’s not fast enough to get by anybody.
Kerr has no choice but to play him as the team starting power forward. He can certainly match the quickness of a power forward lol.
He’ll dribble around looking for a path to the hole and run out of time And so then he’ll get his jumper blocked. Just worthless out there.
So to sum it up, zero offensive contribution in a playoff game, which is what we’ve been saying for three years, and on defense, he can’t stay in front of anybody so you try to use him to defend power forwards. Fantastic solution for a 6-5 guard.
I am so done with this.
And can you believe there’s people on this website making comments that he’s a great player? That he deserves a chance.., that he should get starters minutes? Ridiculous.
You are right, but he did contribute a lot down the stretch for Warriors. He played much better than you guve him credit for. Somehow, we need him to het his confidence back and at least hit the open 3s. He might just do it if you root for him! :)
Does he deserves starter minutes or does the warriors have no other choice buy ut give him starter minutes? He should be on a short leash with Kerr right now struggling to make wide open shots.
We still need Moody to beat the Wolves; he needs to overcome jitters and hit those 3s.
Yes, Kuminga did score 7 points, but he still look lost most of the time. Hope they both take advantage of this opportunity.
IDK something about Kuminga feels off to me this year, since he came back from injury. Does he not trust the coaching staff? Perhaps the training staff? Maybe losing Wiggins who might be one of his closest guys on the team has something to do with it? The last part I’m just spitballing but IDK the relationship he had with Wiggins. I’ll let the OG Warriors Crew in here tell me about that. But yeah, I just don’t like his mannerisms on the floor and how he is just non-challan. It’s the playoffs man, every game matters.
The shots Moses Moody got during the regular season disappear in the playoffs.
Moses Moody having time to set up that three-pointer he’s improved on is gone as defenses get a little more intense and close out shooters a little quicker.
These games really count and Moses Moody does not belong on the floor. Just my opinion, but it’s painfully obvious to me as I watch Mr. casual try to play basketball in a meaningful way.
Speaking of coaching, I read that Poppovich gave Udoka tips on how to beat the Warriors for those 3 loses. Just maybe Kerr knows what he is doing.
Moody and Podz had better turn it around starting game 2. They both stunk up the joint Monday night. Can’t remember the last time I saw a player play as terrible as Moody did in just a few minutes of playing time. Damn, that was pure ugly and would get some guys waived, sent down, or traded had it been in the regular season. The matador defense by him & Kuminga also isn’t going to inspire a lot of trust in them from Kerr.
That’s not a good thing as the the Warriors need to roll out the deep roster as in Game 1, wear the opponent down and attack in waves.
“We have the best coaching staff in the NBA.” – Draymond Green
“I don’t like Green any more.” – Davey J
There’s not one coach who has more Championship experience than Kerr. It’s not just 4 Titles with Warriors, but 5 titles as a player. He knows about all the pressures and jitters, and does a great job prepping his players. This week, Thunders choked, Cavs choked.
He actually made a game winning shot for the title for a certain team in Game 6 in the 90’s, but yes let’s say he’s overrated lol. Kerr has always been a winner wherever he went.
He’s our Phil Jackson and Pop connection!
Hey dummy, I only dislike Kerr, not the entire coaching staff.
One thing I noticed last night, they were really physical on the boards. +10 with +6 on the offensive glass. That’s the effort that will be needed for the rest of this series against a team that has size and athleticism. Great team effort on the glass last night. I’m sure Finch is going to grill those guys for the lack of effort on the defensive glass. Great all around team win on the road.
oh and GP2 had 8/5/4. I’ll take that from any guy in the playoffs that is contributing right now.
This is going to be a very difficult series to win. And I’m not talking about the loss of curry, though that’s pretty big by itself.
But if you watch Anthony Edwards it really seems like he can get to the hole for a lay in almost anytime he wants.
He’s that fast and strong. Seems like he did that about five times in the second half. Blow by a guy, then an uncontested lay in.
I can imagine him breaking out for 45 or 50 in game two doing exactly that and also hitting threes.
I’d put a lot of money on a 50 spot from Edwards in game 2. This is another screenshot opportunity for the naysayers.
I honestly would put Butler on Edwards, Draymond on McDaniels. Let Randle shoot them out of a ballgame because he takes plays off offensively and gets lazy and settles for perimeter shots. Hield can help wedge and sag off Donte, allowing more resistance for Edwards to the basket. Butler is a well conditioned athlete, and putting him on Edwards will make Edwards work TWICE as hard on the offensive end. You won’t stop AntMan but make it more difficult late in the 4th when fatigue takes over.
Minny shouldn’t have lost that game. Specially when Steph went out. They didn’t even seem ready. Ant Man cas called on it after game. After beating Lakers they feel they have accomplished something. Minny also is stll learning to win. That is something Warriors can use to their favor. When your shots are not falling. You get to the FT line. The three point shot has changed that. Teams don’t even run low post plays anymore. I find that so hypocritical. Since a low post miss-match. Will get you an open look three. Minny shot 15/17 FTs, 17.2% (3pt), 39.6% FG
link to nytimes.com