Stephen Curry has not played for the Golden State Warriors since Game 1 of their second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The results have followed a predictable outcome since then.
The Warriors managed to hold onto win the first game of the series and steal home-court from the Timberwolves.
That advantage did not hold for long. The Timberwolves ripped off three straight wins to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
With Curry still on the mend from the hamstring injury in Game 1, it is worth pondering whether the Warriors can stay afloat long enough for their superstar point guard to return and potentially swing the series for an improbable comeback.
Has Golden State reached the point of desperation where they would ask the all-time great to push himself to an on-court return despite the injury?
Draymond Green Warriors
Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green.
© Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Warriors preaching patience despite crushing series deficit
In the 2019 NBA Finals, the Warriors found themselves in a similar predicament to the one they are in now. The team fell behind 3-1 to the Toronto Raptors and Kevin Durant was miraculously back in the lineup for Game 5.
Durant did not survive the entire game against the Raptors before suffering an Achilles injury in the contest. The Warriors went on to lose the series and Durant left Golden State.
The situation is not quite the same here with Curry, and the stage is not as bright as the NBA Finals. However, one Warriors star is preaching patience, implying a lesson learned from that scenario.
“If he’s in a place where he can play, I’m sure he will,” Draymond Green told Anthony Slater after Game 4. “Everybody will figure that out. We don’t need Superman. [We] gotta play the long game.”
Green continued: “If he can, we know he will, but there’s no pressure. We gotta figure out a way to win whether he plays or not.”
Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves will obviously be working hard to make sure Curry does not have a chance to return and change this series.
With Game 5 on Wednesday in Minnesota, the Timberwolves will undoubtedly bring all the pressure to the Warriors in an effort to close out the series without Curry in the lineup.