MINNEAPOLIS — Stephen Curry sat in a chair with clothes that looked like he was ready to take on 18 holes on the golf course rather than the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Or more accurately, rigorous rehab.
He walked gingerly out of the visitors’ locker room and into the Minneapolis night Tuesday, his left hamstring the cause of concern for the Golden State Warriors and, honestly, the NBA.
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Inside the Warriors locker room, the conversations had were not of a team that had lost its leader for possibly an extended period of time.
You couldn’t tell if there was fear their season relies heavily on the results of an MRI test Wednesday morning, nor could you tell how exhausted they were following a physical and emotional test in the first round.
The energy inside wasn’t too dissimilar from what they displayed in 48 minutes of focus, as they shocked the Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals with a 99-88 win at Target Center.
Curry came up limping after a floater at the 8:46 mark of second quarter, the final of his 13 points — it was a move that he’d done so many times before and given his start, would’ve done so many more on this evening.
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Now the Warriors call him “day to day” and await the results of the MRI — and the schedule gives the Warriors no breaks as games will be played every other day until there’s a four day break between Games 5 and 6, should the series last that long.
It’s yet another example of the unpredictability of these playoffs, especially for the elder statesmen. LeBron James, knocked down by Donte DiVincenzo in the waning minutes of the Lakers season, suffering an MCL sprain. Damian Lillard sat on the floor of Fiserv Forum with a wry, almost joker-like smile in the immediate aftermath of tearing his ACL.
And now perhaps, it’s Curry adding to the list, putting real doubt into the Warriors’ long term prospects for an upset in this series.
“He’s obviously crushed,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who said he talked to Curry at halftime and Curry was already receiving treatment, a clear sign his night was over. “Obviously we’re all concerned about Steph but it’s part of the game. Guys get hurt and you move on. Our guys did a great job of moving on.”
Stephen Curry has an MRI scheduled for Wednesday morning after injuring his leg Tuesday night in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
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It was just 48 hours after their determined Game 7 win in Houston, one that Curry polished off when Amen Thompson seemed to come down with a cramp, giving the greatest shooter alive more than enough space to nail yet another heartbreaking, soul-crushing triple.
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Now, the cruelty, or at least the possibility of it, has turned its head to Curry. Even as he grabbed the back of his leg, he was able to go up and down for a defensive stop and an offensive play.
That’s a better sign than most devastating hamstring injuries. There’s an enduring image of Magic Johnson, the charter member in the pantheon of great point guards, grabbing at his hamstring in Game 2 of the 1989 NBA Finals in Detroit. He could barely move, but he knew the severity, immediately, not wanting to leave the floor as the Lakers’ three-peat chances were dashed in that moment.
For Curry, he dished an assist to Draymond Green for a 3-pointer and as timeout was called, immediately began heading toward the locker room. But there was no immediate resignation in the moment.
He told Green, “I’ll be back” as Green noticed Curry’s gait being out of place.
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Perhaps that’s a good sign moving forward.
The best sign, one can surmise, is the Warriors employ Jimmy Butler. His regular-season output doesn’t look drastically different than the man he replaced, Andrew Wiggins, but there’s a difference in how he plays this time of year.
He defended everyone from Rudy Gobert to Julius Randle to Anthony Edwards, calming down the offense as Buddy Hield woke up at the right time. Hield was a +16 in the first half but had just two points (0-7 FG) to his name, and then exploded in the third for 16 when the Timberwolves started to shake off their lethargy.
“Robin (Butler) turned into Batman … Alfred (Hield) turned into Robin, and they just filled in,” Green said. “It was beautiful to see.”
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Butler and Hield have this playful brotherly energy, where they pick at each other to keep things light. Butler playfully chided Hield for not having the right game shorts on, as Hield had to exit the game and change in the locker room.
Buddy Hield and Jimmy Butler stepped up after Stephen Curry limped off the court. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
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But it keeps things light in serious, tense moments, especially for a team that only has but so much playoff experience down the roster.
“I saw Butters (Hield) be aggressive and make some timely shots and get stops in a big way,” Butler said. “I think we all want 30 (Curry) back, that’s for sure. But we want him to do his best for himself, best for our group, in a long run, in the long haul. And until then, we can hold down the fort. I know we can.”
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Anytime Hield can defend the likes of Anthony Edwards and actually outscore him (24 to 23 for Edwards), the Warriors will take that trade every time. Butler helped control tempo and grab key possessions with seven of his 11 rebounds coming on the offensive end, scoring 20 points with eight assists.
Butler has blended into the Warriors’ culture since arriving at the deadline, deferring to the leadership of Curry and Green. But the Warriors are in a spot like the oft-undermanned Miami Heat were during those playoff runs Butler had to take center stage in.
No matter the length of Curry’s injury, Butler has to do more, and he knows it.
“I’m not a volume shooter. Never have been, probably never will be, but I’m gonna play the right way,” Butler said. “(If) my guys is open, I’m gonna pass it and they’re gonna shoot it. If they don’t shoot it, probably yell at them for not shooting the ball, and I’m just gonna have to be efficient.
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“I trained for this.”
In those Heat runs, Butler averaged 24.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.9 steals on 27 percent usage. For context, his usage is around 21 since coming to the Warriors.
“We’re two of the three leaders of this team,” Green told Yahoo Sports. “Our guy down, we gotta step up in that category and figure it out, help guys to be in a position to be successful. We gotta do it.”
Green admits the Timberwolves, despite blowing Game 1, will probably feel more confident given Curry’s uncertain status. But he’ll prod Butler on doing more.
“He knows, and we’ll make sure he knows,” Green said.
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Green hasn’t hit four triples in a playoff game since the 2017 semifinals against Utah (he hit five in Game 2 of that series) but came alive early when the Warriors needed the spacing and shot-making.
And perhaps it was just for a night with the Timberwolves doing everything they could to aid the Warriors in continuing the NBA’s trend of road teams taking care of business all through the start of the second round, missing 19 of their first 20 3-point attempts.
It was as if they were trying to best the Boston Celtics in poor shot-recognition and decision-making, thus playing right into the Warriors’ hands. Edwards, the NBA’s next all-everything, needed 28 minutes of game time to notch his first bucket and his charge of 23 points and 14 rebounds came too little, too late as the Timberwolves could never get in front of the game.
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Nor could they use their size advantage to their liking, as the Warriors got to every loose ball.
Who knows if its replicable for Game 2 or the rest of the series, but the waiting game begins.
Will Curry be around for Game 3 at home? Or Game 4? Or maybe even Game 5, back in this building, which could be a potential clincher for either, as wacky as these playoffs have been.
But for the night, the Warriors reigned without their king.
The Warriors didn’t even weep for a night, but they are hoping joy comes in the morning.
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