SAN FRANCISCO — Warriors superstar Stephen Curry does not expect to return to the court Wednesday for Game 5 with Golden State’s season on the line, he told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears on Monday night.
“Even if I wanted to be Superman, I couldn’t,” Curry said, referring to his left hamstring injury.
Curry was responding to a comment by teammate Draymond Green that the Warriors and Curry are not going to try to “Superman this thing” if the star isn’t fully ready to return.
Without Curry, the Warriors lost Monday’s Game 4 117-110 to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Down 3-1 in the Western Conference semifinals, the Warriors now must win in Minneapolis in Game 5 to keep their season alive and will in all likelihood have to do so without Curry.
Curry suffered a Grade 1 left hamstring strain in the second quarter of Game 1 on May 6. He will be reevaluated Wednesday.
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If the Warriors can extend their season, that could give Curry an additional three days of recovery before a potential Game 6 at home on Sunday.
“No, we’re not going to Superman this thing,” Green said when asked if he expects Curry to try to push to come back, and if so, would Green be a part of that conversation. “If he’s in a place where he can play, I’m sure he will. Him and Rick [Celebrini, Warriors vice president of player health and performance] and everybody will figure that out. But we don’t need [Curry to try to be] Superman.
“Got to 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.”
Without Curry, the Warriors were undone in Game 4 by a 17-0 Minnesota run in the third quarter that turned a 68-all game into a Wolves rout. The Warriors were outscored 39-17 in the third quarter. Jimmy Butler, who played 43 minutes and had 33 points in Game 3, took only nine shots and finished with 14 points and six rebounds in Game 4.
Green said that Butler had been feeling ill on Monday. Butler, who has spoken after almost every game as a Warrior this season, left by the time the locker room was open to the media.
“We obviously need him shooting the ball,” Green said of Butler. “But their defense, they were collapsing on him today. So, we tried to pick up that slack. But I know he’s not feeling well; been pretty crappy all day. That also affects the energy, as well. No excuses made here.
“I think that’s on me. I’ve got to find a way to get him into more positions to score. I think tonight, I was just trying to get him the ball, and I don’t think I got him the ball in good spots, which then allowed the defense to load up on him. So, I’ve got to do a better job of getting him the ball in better spots to where it’s not as easy for the defense to key on him.”
The Warriors will need Butler at his best to keep their season alive, especially with Curry likely requiring more time to recover.
“He wasn’t as aggressive tonight,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Butler. “But I didn’t see a lot of openings, either. Ideally, we could put more shooting around him to open up the floor a little bit. But with Steph out, we’re not going to be able to do as much of that.
“We’ll look at the tape and see where we can find some openings for him. And I know, he’ll be aggressive for Game 5.”
Wolves star guard Anthony Edwards, who put up 30 points in Game 4, said he wishes he was playing against Curry right now.
“Trust me, man, I wish he could be out there to play against him, no matter how it goes,” said Edwards, who played with Curry on the United States basketball team that won Olympic gold in Paris last summer. “But yeah, just from working out with him in the summer, that’s what I told him after I hit a [3]. Because he told me, I had missed one. He was like, ‘You wasn’t going to make that. You was too open.’
“I was like, ‘I ain’t never going to stop shooting them. I learned that from you this summer.’ He’s the greatest. Greatest shooter of all time. I would definitely love to compete against him, man, but he got hurt, unfortunately, and I hope he gets better.”
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.
