Steph Curry Reportedly 'Didn’t Push it to Full Speed' During 'Strenuous' Injury Rehab
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry reportedly took a step toward returning from his hamstring injury with a "pretty strenuous workout" on Saturday, but there are still steps to be taken since he "didn't push it to full speed" ahead of his team's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"About 90 minutes before tip on Saturday night, Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry went through a pretty strenuous workout on the team's practice court in the dungeons of Chase Center," Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported. "It was the clearest initial step in what Curry hopes to be an expedited return from the hamstring strain that has come to define this second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"Curry didn't push it to full speed, according to a team source. He's yet to burst or cut or test that left hamstring in a manner that'll deliver him and Rick Celebrini—the team’s lead medical decision maker—the true information they’ll need on whether the hamstring is healed enough to return deeper in this series. But he went through a medium-speed shooting routine and rode the stationary bike. This was a notable advancement for Curry in his race against time."
Curry suffered a Grade 1 left hamstring strain during Game 1 of his team's Western Conference semifinals series against the Timberwolves. He did not return after scoring 13 points in 13 minutes.
On Wednesday, the Warriors announced that Curry would be reevaluated in a week, meaning he would miss Games 2, 3 and 4. It also seemed to put his status for Game 5, which is scheduled for May 14, in some doubt as well.
Prior to the Game 2 matchup, Curry said he didn't have a target return date.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported during a Friday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show that Curry "could be back for Game 6 at the earliest."
Without Curry, the Warriors struggled in Game 2, losing 117-93 and making just 9-of-32 threes. Golden State fell behind 13-0 to start and never recovered.
It was closer during a 102-97 loss in Game 3, but it still fell short and now trails 2-1 in the series.
Losing Curry is obviously a brutal blow. He's posting a team-high 24.5 points and 6.0 assists per game. The pressure is on the likes of Buddy Hield and Brandin Podziemski in the backcourt and forwards Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green in the frontcourt to step up, with Jonathan Kuminga and Gary Payton II assuredly playing more.
