Steph Curry Says Things Were 'Aligned' for Injury Return in Warriors vs. Wolves Game 6
Stephen Curry believes he could have possibly returned from his hamstring injury for Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals had the Golden State Warriors been able to extend the series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"Everything was kinda aligned for Game 6," he told reporters on Thursday regarding his potential return. "I had some testing to do, and who knows how that would have went, because I haven't gone live since Game 1. First time dealing with this injury. I was pretty optimistic, but there were a couple more checkpoints to get through. It's a great 'what if?'"
Curry never got the chance to find out if he could have returned, of course, as the Wolves handled their business on Wednesday night, beating the Dubs 121-110 to close the series. Minnesota was ruthless with Curry injured, winning all four games he missed.
"Disappointing," Warriors governor Joe Lacob told Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic in the aftermath of the five-game defeat. "I really hoped we could extend the series and I'm … I am pretty positive that if we had Steph, we'd have won this series."
There was a great deal of optimism in the Bay Area when the Warriors traded for Jimmy Butler ahead of February's trade deadline and signed him to an extension. Those hopes were only bolstered when the Dubs survived a tough series against the 2-seeded Houston Rockets in seven games.
Curry's injury during the second round tanked those hopes rather quickly, however. Still, the team's window isn't closed just yet.
"On the surface, that's why he signed for two more years—our belief we can make it work," Curry said of Butler's extension. "And we've proven that the last three months. Just gotta figure out what is going to get us to the next level as a whole. One guy can't win it. Two guys can't win it. It's gotta be a team."
The Warriors will have the upcoming offseason to rework the roster around Curry, Butler and Draymond Green, or decide if they want to go all-in for a superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo if he requests a trade.
Either way, the team's title window with Curry steering the ship is growing narrow. The superstar guard is 37, and while he continues to play at a high level, there's no guarantees that his body will continue to hold up going forward. This postseason's hamstring injury ended one opportunity to make a run—it's unclear how many Curry, and these Warriors, have left in the tank.
