The Golden State Warriors dropped encouraging Stephen Curry news ahead of win-or-go-home Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
“Curry, who has missed the last three games due to a strained hamstring, has been re-evaluated,” the Warriors’ statement reads. “The re-evaluation indicated that Curry is making good progress in his recovery. He has been cleared to participate in light on-court workouts, including shooting drills. He will be re-evaluated again on Saturday.”
While the result of his re-evaluation was not the best-case scenario—cleared for return, which the fans are miraculously hoping for—it is a step in the right direction for Curry.
The encouraging news should serve as a motivation for the Warriors to win one for Curry on the road as his scheduled re-evaluation comes one day before Sunday’s Game 6, if they can extend the series.
Warriors veteran forward Draymond Green is cautiously optimistic about his longtime teammate’s return in the series.
“Nah, we’re not going to Superman this thing. If he’s in a place where he can play, I’m sure he will,” Green told reporters after the Warriors lost Game 4.
“Him and [Warriors director of sports medicine and performance] Rick [Celebrini] and everyone else will figure that out, but we don’t need Superman. You’ve got to play the long game, so if he can, we know he will. But there’s no pressure. We’ve got to find a way to win whether he plays or not.”
Steph Curry Couldn’t Be Superman
Curry acknowledged the harsh truth that he couldn’t return in Game 4 to save the Warriors’ season.
“Even if I wanted to be Superman, I couldn’t,” Curry told Andscape’s Marc Spears.
The Warriors have lost all three games Curry has missed since exiting Game 1 with the ill-timed injury.
The 37-year-old Curry is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 22.6 points per game in their playoff run before the injury. He is also averaging 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists.
“As far as Steph, he’s working his tail off every day,” Green said. “You know, he’s in here eight, nine hours a day, working, doing what he can to try to get back. So, you know, his morale is great. Obviously, nobody’s excited right now, but he’s working to get back. That’s all you can do it at this point.”
The Real “Playoff Jimmy” Needs to Stand Up
Getty Head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors talks to Jimmy Butler.
With Curry out again, all eyes are on Jimmy Butler, who saved their season at the trade deadline, lifting them back into the playoffs.
But he wasn’t himself in Game 4, which hastened the Warriors’ deflating 117-110 loss.
After exploding for 33 points on 26 shots in Game 3, Butler only took nine shots in Game 4 and finished with only 14 points.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr revealed Butler was ill.
“Jimmy was under the weather last night,” Kerr said on 95.7 The Game’s Mark T. Willard and Dan Dibley on Tuesday. “He really was not feeling well and that definitely impacted him…Everyone knows who Jimmy is. He’s one of the great playoff performers and I expect him to have a big game tomorrow.”
The 35-year-old Butler is averaging 21 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists against the Timberwolves in the series.
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