The Golden State point guard is reportedly dealing with a grade one hamstring strain, set to keep him on the bench through at least game four of the franchise's series with Minnesota.

Despite walking away with a game one victory in its second round series with the Minnesota Timberwolves on May 6, the Golden State Warriors left the game feeling worse about its chances of advancing to the Western Conference Finals, given that star point guard Steph Curry left the matchup early with a hamstring strain. 

On the following morning, it was reported Curry is set to miss at least the next three games of the series, having been diagnosed with a grade one strain that typically comes with a recovery period of 1-2 weeks. Assuming Curry will be unable to pull off a medical miracle, it seems as if Golden State’s chances of reaching the penultimate stage of the postseason are now slim-to-none. 

Even with a game one victory that helped solidify home-court advantage for the Warriors, heading into the remainder of the series without its best player leaves little hope for a franchise that already found itself quite thin on useful players to thrust into a postseason lineup. It will now be up to long-standing Warrior Draymond Green, as well as February trade acquisition Jimmy Butler, to lead a team that includes role players such as Buddy Heild, Moses Moody and Gary Payton II all the way to the Western Conference Finals. 

Butler has actually managed to pull off similar feats with his former Miami Heat squads, including NBA Finals runs in the 2020 bubble and against the Denver Nuggets in 2022-2023, although both ended in defeat for the 35-year-old superstar. 

Green is still a dominant force on defense at times but has never featured the offensive prowess necessary to be seen as a genuine number two scoring option, meaning players such as Heild and Moody will have to make up for the lack of scoring from Curry. The job will not be simple by any means, given the stout defense Minnesota showed against a Los Angeles Lakers squad that was powered by Luka Doncic and LeBron James, as well as the production Curry typically generates while on the floor. 

With his incredible shooting ability from three-point range now a non-factor for the majority of the second round matchup also, there is a genuine chance Minnesota could rattle off four consecutive victories and send Golden State packing before Curry even has a chance to return. 

On DraftKings sportsbook, the Timberwolves are listed at -185 despite being down 1-0 in the series already, as many expect Minnesota to take care of business at home in game two, before heading to Golden State where Warriors fans will have to watch on without the efforts of Curry. Compared to Golden State’s odds of +155, DraftKings now has a common theme brewing of favorites which are down 1-0 still holding significantly stronger odds than that of its opponent. 

For example, the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder both fell down 1-0 in its respective series with the New York Knicks and Denver, but are still listed at -340 and -290 to advance to the Conference Finals. New York shocked Boston by coming back from a 20-point deficit in the third quarter to win away from home in overtime, whereas Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon made a three-pointer with less than three seconds remaining to defeat the Thunder. 

Curry’s injury will most likely bring an unfortunate end to the Warriors 2024-2025 season, but the franchise will still have Curry, Green and Butler under contract for next year, with the chance to add more stylistic fits around the trio to better form a winning squad. On the Minnesota side of things, the Timberwolves and shooting guard Anthony Edwards will get its second crack at the Western Conference Finals, having lost to Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks in 2023-2024 in just five games, prior to the Slovenian superstar being sent to Los Angeles earlier this year. 

Looking across at the Nuggets and Thunder, both teams present various challenges to the Wolves, but Minneasota defeated Denver as recently as last season in the Playoffs in a well-fought seven-game set. Oklahoma City would certainly pose the bigger threat given its depth and the superstar talent of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, having finished with the best record across the entire NBA this season. No matter how the series play out, the NBA postseason took a significant hit once Curry’s recovery timeline became public, but the Warriors still feature two stars in Green and Butler who could give Minnesota a run for its money.