Stephen Curry Out At Least One Week With Grade 1 Hamstring Strain
12:46 pm: The Warriors have confirmed Charania’s report, announcing in a press release that Curry has a Grade 1 hamstring strain and will be reevaluated in one week (Twitter link). That timeline suggests he’ll miss at least the next three games (Thursday, Saturday, and Monday).
11:59 am: Stephen Curry has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), who reports that the Warriors star will be ruled out for Game 2 of the team’s second-round playoff series vs. Minnesota.
Curry injured his hamstring in the second quarter of Game 1 on Tuesday and was forced to miss the rest of the contest.
As Charania observes, although Curry has a long history of knee and ankle issues, he has never strained a hamstring before. That means this will be the first time he goes through the rehab process for this specific injury, creating some uncertainty about how long his recovery will take.
The good news is that a Grade 1 strain is considered mild. The bad news is that it still typically sidelines a player for at least one week, and Charania confirms (via Twitter) that Golden State is preparing for Curry to miss at least the next seven days.
Based on data compiled by Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes (Twitter link), the average time lost for a confirmed Grade 1 strain is approximately 10 days. While Curry will certainly attempt to beat that recovery timeline and miss as few games as possible, the Warriors will have to be wary about the risk of re-injury if he comes back too soon.
Game 5 of the series will be played on Wednesday, May 14, which is one week from tonight and eight days after Curry sustained his injury. The two teams would then have three full days off before Game 6 (if necessary) on May 18.
As we detailed earlier today, guards Gary Payton II (16:40) and Pat Spencer (10:33) played big second-half minutes in Game 1 with Curry unavailable. The Warriors also leaned more heavily on sharpshooter Buddy Hield, whose 21:48 of playing time in the second half was a team-high.
Rockets GM Stone Talks Green, Continuity, Adams, More
Despite a 38-point outing in Game 2, fourth-year guard Jalen Green struggled mightily in the Rockets‘ first-round playoff series vs. Golden State, averaging 13.3 points per game with a .372/.295/.667 shooting line in the first seven postseason games of his career. Those numbers were well below his regular season marks of 21.0 PPG on .423/.354/.813 shooting.
Speaking to reporters, including Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required), at an end-of-season press conference on Tuesday, general manager Rafael Stone defended Green, noting that “one playoff series doesn’t define a player.”
“Jalen didn’t have the series that he wanted to have, or we didn’t,” Stone said. “But I think it’s a little bit of a double-edged sword in terms of trying to evaluate it, because their goal going into the series was to take him out, and that was obvious.
“… We are not a team built around any one player offensively, whether Jalen or Alperen (Sengun) or Amen (Thompson) or Fred (VanVleet). And so if your goal is to take out one of our players, in theory, what should happen is that our other players should just punish it. And (head coach) Ime (Udoka) frequently talks to the guys about inviting double teams: hit the guy, and you’re the sacrificial lamb. And so, you know, in some games we punished it. In some games we didn’t, and one of the games we ended up with great spacing, and we were able to punish it with him.”
Udoka acknowledged that Green went through some “growing pains” in the postseason as the Warriors focused more defensive attention on him and said he has talked to the 23-year-old about areas to focus on this summer.
“I think physically getting stronger to absorb contact on some of his drives when he has the advantage, or finishing at the rim when he does get the driving lane, all those things are things we talked about with him going into the offseason,” Udoka said, per Lerner. “And (being) able to use him off ball a little bit more, and you got to get a little bit stronger as far as that because they took him out of some of those actions where they couldn’t trap him.”
While Green was more effective during the regular season than in the playoffs, there were still some troubling trends evident over the larger 82-game sample. Most notably, Houston had a +9.4 net rating when he was off the court, the highest off-court mark for any player on the roster. The team was a modest +2.8 during Green’s minutes.
“That’s a really flawed question,” Stone said when asked specifically about that on/off-court data. “I can make data say whatever I want it to say. And so, you know, I think we heavily use it but we’re very careful to try and really parse it out. And I would say that some of our very best lineups include him and so that piece by itself, I just think that’s just, yeah, that’s just not correct.”
The three-year, $105MM+ rookie scale extension that Green signed last fall will go into effect this July, so his cap hit will increase from $12.5MM this past season to $33.3MM in 2025/26.
Here are a few more highlights from Tuesday’s presser featuring Stone and Udoka:
- The most pressing question in Houston this offseason is whether the front office will be looking to pursue a star on the trade market. Addressing that subject on Tuesday, Stone didn’t rule out the possibility, but suggested it’s not Plan A for the front office. “I will give you an inside betting tip that I think continuity is very, very likely,” the Rockets’ GM said, according to Lerner (subscription required). “Last summer, we didn’t make changes because we were really comfortable with where we were, and we’d seen really good things from our team in terms of kind of a good progression. And I think we saw more of the same this year. So I think the bar to make changes is very high.”
- Stone did offer an important caveat to his comments about continuity: “I think continuity for continuity’s sake isn’t what we’re trying to achieve. Continuity is great, but the goal ultimately is to build a championship team. And if we think that there’s a move or a series of moves that make it more likely we will be that then, then we would ignore continuity, and we do those moves.”
- Stone also observed that trading for an impact player doesn’t guarantee he “will be the same player in our environment that (he was) in the last one,” meaning the Rockets would proceed with caution and would be seeking the right fit if they go that route. As for whether or not Houston would target a player who fits the timeline of its young core in that hypothetical scenario, Stone confirmed that would be a consideration but not necessarily a deciding factor. “It’s more important how good you are and what you can bring,” he said. “But we do want to be very competitive for as long as we possibly can.”
- Referring to this year’s Rockets as governor Tilman Fertitta‘s “favorite team he’s ever had,” Stone expressed confidence in the young core’s ability to continue improving after taking a significant step forward in 2024/25. “I think we’re on a very solid trajectory,” Stone said, per ESPN’s Michael C. Wright. “But just because you’ve done it in the past doesn’t mean that you’re guaranteed to do it in the future. So, we have to continue to put in the work, which kind of starts on an individual basis, and not just with our players, (but) myself, my staff. We have to figure out around the edges, are there things we can do, including doing nothing. We have to do our jobs. Ime and his staff, they have to do theirs. We all have to come back a little better next year. But today, I’m very comfortable with our progression.”
- Veteran center Steven Adams will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after playing a key role off the bench — his +9.4 net rating during the regular season and +14.1 mark in the postseason were both team highs. According to Stone, bringing back Adams will be an offseason priority for the front office. “He’s a really important part of the group, and kind of the continuity I talked about and the value earlier, he’s an important part of that,” Stone said, per Jonathan M. Alexander of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “It’s a two-way street. He has to want to be here. Every indication we have is that he does.”
- In case you missed it, Stone also expressed optimism on Tuesday that VanVleet will “be with us for the foreseeable future.” The Rockets and VanVleet are reportedly exploring pushing back the decision deadline for his $44.9MM team option.
Timberwolves Coach Chris Finch Criticizes Anthony Edwards
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch called out his star player after Minnesota’s 99-88 loss to the Warriors on Tuesday night.
Finch was clearly irked by what he felt was a lackluster performance from Anthony Edwards.
“What is there to talk about? You’re the leader of the team,” Finch said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “You’ve got to come out and set the tone. If your shot is not going, you still have to carry the energy. If I’ve got to talk to guys about having the right energy coming into an opening second-round game, then we’re not on the same page.”
Edwards didn’t make a field goal in the first half as Minnesota was held to 31 first-half points. He finished with 23 points on 9-for-23 shooting as the Timberwolves failed to take advantage of Stephen Curry‘s hamstring injury.
“It starts with Ant,” Finch said. “I thought he struggled, and then you could just kind of see the light go out a little bit for a while.”
In an era when two coaches on playoff-bound teams were fired late in the regular season, it’s unusual for a head coach to criticize one of the league’s stars that strongly. However, Finch has plenty of financial security. He signed a four-year extension last summer that carries through the 2027/28 season.
Edwards didn’t strike back at Finch’s comments, seemingly offering a diplomatic response.
“People are going to try to blame whatever, blame whoever; they can blame me,” Edwards said. “[But] we just didn’t play good enough.
“… Tonight, we didn’t shoot the ball well, but tonight is over. So, next game we’ll shoot the ball really well.”
Finch was upset in general with Minnesota’s offensive decision-making, feeling the team didn’t take advantage of Golden State’s 18 turnovers.
“Our transition decision-making was diabolical,” Finch said. “Obviously, we couldn’t hit a shot, but I didn’t like the fact that we couldn’t repeatedly generate good shots. We should’ve been able to.”
Pacific Notes: Post, Jackson, Kings Draft Workout, Frank, Redick
Quinten Post went from a second-round rookie on a two-way contract to a regular contributor on a standard deal this season with Warriors. Post, who only played six minutes in the Game 1 win over Minnesota on Tuesday, is grateful for how his rookie campaign unfolded.
“It’s always a bunch of factors combined. Obviously, you need to have self-belief,” he told Mark Medina of Sportskeeda. “Even when I was in the G League, I had this belief in myself that this would work out. I had a lot of things that I did in the best of my career so far.
Then you just need an opportunity. They were struggling a little bit during the regular season. I’m very grateful because coach (Steve Kerr) let me play through some mistakes, especially early on. I definitely didn’t play perfect. It wasn’t like I came out and was a game changer at all. That wasn’t the case at all. But he let me play through some mistakes. Then I think Jimmy being traded to us also helped me out.”
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Bobby Jackson is returning to the Kings coaching staff as an assistant to Doug Christie, radio reporter Sean Cunningham tweets. Jackson, who has been on the Sixers‘ staff for the past two seasons, was previously the head coach of the NBA G League’s Stockton Kings for two seasons.
- Missouri guard Tamar Bates, Florida center Rueben Chinyelu, Georgia guard Silas Demary, Villanova guard Wooga Poplar and Kentucky center Amari Williams were among the draft prospects who worked for the Kings on Monday, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee writes. Williams is ranked 59th on ESPN’s top-100 list. Demary transferred to UConn but is testing the draft waters.
- Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank will focus on adding frontcourt help – especially at the center position – and younger players this offseason, according to Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. “I think we need to add (players),” Frank said. “The West is a bear. It doesn’t get easier. It gets harder because each of these teams that either were playing or are currently playing – look at their top players, they are studs, they’re great players, some are in their prime, some are pre-primed, some are also comparable ages to our guys.”
- Lakers coach J.J. Redick believes certain members of the team need to do a better job of conditioning and improving their stamina, according to Khobi Price of the Orange County Register. “I’ll start with the offseason and the work that’s required in an offseason to be in championship shape,” he said. “And we have a ways to go as a roster. And certainly, there are individuals that were in phenomenal shape. There’s certainly other ones that could have been in better shape. That’s where my mind goes immediately is we have to get in championship shape.”
Warriors Notes: Curry, Reserves, Butler, Hield, 2020 Draft
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.
Northwest Notes: Randle, Thunder, SGA, Blazers
Julius Randle missed over a month during the regular season due to a groin injury. The Timberwolves big man used that time to reevaluate how he could best impact his new teammates, he told Marc Spears of Andscape.
“When I got injured those few weeks, I was able to see what the team needed, kind of see better how things are done and how I can best help us win games,” Randle said. “So, usually when I get injured, I try to come back better than I was before and really that was my focus. It was just learning the teammates, learning the system, adjusting, learning how I can best help the team.”
Randle delivered in a big way during their first-round series against the Lakers, posting averages of 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- The Thunder played just 24 games this regular season decided in clutch time, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman notes. That may have caught up to them in Game 1 of their second-round series against Denver, as they squandered a late nine-point lead. “We’ve usually been able to execute pretty well on both ends and slam the door on those games,” coach Mark Daigneault said. “We didn’t do that last night.”
- Franchise player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is eager to see how his Thunder teammates will respond in Game 2 on Wednesday. “It should be fun,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “We’re going to find out what we’re made of, what we’re really made of. Nobody expected it to be smooth sailing this whole journey. No journey in life is, and we know that. Today’s a bump in the road — unexpected. No one expects to lose, especially that way, but it’s the game of life. So it’s about how you respond to getting knocked down.”
- The Trail Blazers held a pre-draft workout on Tuesday that included Devon Pryor (Oregon), Rueben Chinyelu (Florida), Ben Henshall (Perth Wildcats), Dink Pate (Mexico City Capitanes), John Blackwell (Wisconsin) and Lachlan Olbrich (Illawarra Hawks), Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian tweets. Pate (No. 55) and Henshall (64) are the highest-rated prospects among that group, according to ESPN’s Best Available list.
Mitch Johnson Receives Multiyear Commitment From Spurs
Mitch Johnson has agreed to a multiyear contract with the Spurs, agent Andy Miller tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Johnson was named the team’s permanent head coach after serving in that capacity on an interim basis most of this season. Gregg Popovich has retired from coaching as he continues to recover from a stroke suffered in November. Popovich has taken a front office job as president of basketball operations.
It’s customary for teams to sign head coaches to multiyear contracts and this confirms Johnson will receive a commitment beyond next season.
Johnson, 38, has been with the organization since 2016 when he was hired as an assistant coach for San Antonio’s G League affiliate in Austin. He became an assistant with the NBA club three years later.
Johnson led the Spurs to a 31-45 record after Popovich’s health issues. Johnson is the third-youngest active coach in the league, behind only Boston’s Joe Mazzulla and Utah’s Will Hardy.
Mobley, Garland, Hunter Ruled Out For Game 2
Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and De’Andre Hunter have all been ruled out for Game 2 of the Cavaliers’ second-round series against the Pacers, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets.
It’s a huge dilemma for the top seed in the Eastern Conference as they try to avoid going 0-2 in the series on Tuesday.
Mobley sustained a sprained left ankle in Game 1. Garland will miss his fourth straight game due to a sprained big toe on his left foot that has nagged him since the end of the regular season. Hunter suffered a dislocated right thumb in the series opener.
During his pregame press conference, coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t confirm that the trio was out, but stated that he and his staff made preparations for all scenarios.
“We’ve got to be ready for plan A, B, and C,” Atkinson said. “We’ve got a great group. We’ve got great leadership. We’ve always responded. Great maturity, great professionalism, and this is part of what we figure things out as a group. These experiences make you better, make you stronger as a group and we obviously have to respond on the floor, but liked our approach leading up.”
Ty Jerome, Sam Merrill, Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade are some of the players who will have to step up with a pair of Cavs starters and a top reserve unavailable.
Hauser Listed As Doubtful For Game 2; Porzingis Probable
The Celtics’ injury report for Game 2 of their second-round series with the Knicks on Wednesday offers a mixed bag.
Key reserve forward Sam Hauser is listed as doubtful due to a sprained right ankle, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets. However, starting big man Kristaps Porzingis is listed as probable for Game 2 after departing Game 1 early with an illness.
According to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com (Twitter link), Hauser limped out of the arena on Monday with a protective boot on his ankle. Hauser played just four minutes in Boston’s overtime loss, missing both of this shot attempts. He scored a combined 16 points in Games 4 and 5 of the Celtics’ first-round series against Orlando.
During the regular season, Hauser played in 71 games (19 starts), averaging 8.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per night. He made 41.6% of his 3-point attempts, so Boston, which misfired on 45 of its three-point attempts in Game 1, will be down one of its best long-range shooters if Hauser is sidelined.
Porzingis departed Game 1 after going scoreless in 13 minutes. The Celtics missed his inside presence while giving away a double-digit lead in the second half.
He sat out eight games in February and March due to a viral illness and is apparently still feeling the effects, according to Brian Robb of MassLive.com.
“I think since he came back he’s kind of been dealing with it on and off,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Fighting through it, working through it, doing the best that he can. And I think it was just too much for him in that game. So I didn’t know that was going to happen until I found about it in that game but he had been working through it since he’s gotten back. And he’s done a great job of being available and it was just tough for him to continue yesterday so we’ll see kind of how he handles that.”
Knicks Notes: Bridges, Anunoby, Hart, McBride, Robinson
The Knicks raised eyebrows last offseason when they surrendered five first-round picks in a trade for Mikal Bridges, then committed over $212MM in guaranteed money to OG Anunoby. Neither player was expected to be a top-two offensive option for New York in 2024/25, but the team recognized the value of having two of the NBA’s best two-way wings.
Monday’s win over Boston in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals showed exactly why the Knicks were willing to give up such a significant trade package for Bridges, per Adam Zagoria of NJ.com, and why they were comfortable investing so heavily in Anunoby, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Post writes.
Bridges scored only eight points on 3-of-13 shooting, but made several crucial defensive plays in his 51 minutes of action, including a late-game steal that prevented Jaylen Brown from attempting a game-tying three-pointer and secured the victory for the Knicks.
“That’s who Mikal is. He’s (gotten) a lot of criticism and he never lets that affect him,” teammate Josh Hart said after the win, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. “I don’t know how many games down the stretch that he’s won for us on the defensive side alone — the Brooklyn game, the block, the Chicago game he got a block at the end. A couple in the Detroit series. He’s been a huge part for this team. Sometimes those things get overlooked and people just look at stats and they lose sight of how valuable a player that he is.”
Anunoby, who served as the primary defender on Jayson Tatum, helped limit the Celtics star to a 7-of-23 shooting night while also matching Jalen Brunson‘s team-high 29 points.
“Definitely sparked us,” Brunson said of Anunoby. “And the way he’s been playing all season, I have the utmost confidence in him every time he steps on the floor, on both sides of the ball. So it’s what we expect.”
We have more on the Knicks:
- New York loaded up on wings – adding Bridges to complement Anunoby and Hart – in large part to combat Eastern Conference stars like Tatum and Brown. While that vision was questioned during the regular season as the Knicks lost all four of their matchups with the Celtics, the blueprint is as clear as it’s been all year following Monday’s Game 1 upset, says Fred Katz of The Athletic.
- Reserve guard Miles McBride struggled during the first round of the playoffs vs. Detroit, averaging 3.8 points per game on 26.7% shooting. In Game 1 vs. Boston, he had 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, finally giving the Knicks the kind of boost they’d been hoping for off the bench, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post.
- Knicks center Mitchell Robinson made just 3-of-10 free throws on Monday and is now 7-of-25 (28.0%) in the playoffs. Although the Celtics effectively employed a hack-a-Robinson strategy for a little while in Game 1, the big man downplayed his struggles from the foul line, as Schwartz relays for The Post. “Basketball is not just about free throws,” Robinson said. “You got defense, you got rebounds, offensive rebounds — there’s more to it than just free throws. That’s like the only part I need to work on, my free throws. Everything else, I’m straight.” To Robinson’s point, New York outscored Boston by 13 points during his 21 minutes on the court.