Stephen Curry's injury recovery receives huge boost from the NBA

Matthew Wadleigh

Stephen Curry's injury recovery receives huge boost from the NBA image

The Golden State Warriors defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinal round. That's good news. The bad news is that Stephen Curry suffered a hamstring injury in the first half and did not return. 

On Wednesday, the MRI results came back, and it revealed that Curry suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain. In turn, Shams Charania reported that Curry is out for Game 2 and is going to miss "at least" one week. 

So, in a perfect world, Curry would be back on May 14. which is the same day as Game 5 in Minnesota (if needed), although it's unlikely he would play in that game. However, there is some silver lining potentially. 

The first five games of the series are all two days apart: 

  • Game 1: May 6
  • Game 2: May 8 
  • Game 3: May 10
  • Game 4: May 12
  • Game 5: May 14

Then, there is a four-day gap before Game 6, which is set to be played at Golden State on May 18. 

The reason why seems to be due to the Golden State Valkyrie playing at the Chase Center on May 16, so the NBA gave more time to fix things since they share the same arena. 

That means Curry could return for a Game 6 or a Game 7, if the series even goes that far. 

"Steph is dealing with a Grade 1 strain. If he misses the average time lost, a return in Game 6 or Game 7 is plausible," Jeff Stotts wrote. 

The Warriors getting the win in Game 1 is a big boost, and the four-day gap between Games 5 and 6 is another important wrinkle. But, it all depends on how Curry recovers. 

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Matthew Wadleigh

Matthew Wadleigh is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He was born and raised in Southern California and grew up a San Diego sports fan (yes, it’s tough, except for Aztecs hoops). Matthew went to Fresno State as a journalism major and got to see Davante Adams, Derek Carr, Paul George and Aaron Judge in person. Matthew has written for publications including ClutchPoints, Sportscasting, Fansided, Trojans Wire, UCLA Wire and Buffaloes Wire.