Stephen Curry is missing for at least one week due to his first hamstring strain, Cole speaks

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry was diagnosed with a first-degree left leg strain in the first game of the playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, and he will be out for at least one week. The Warriors said Curry underwent an MRI test on Wednesday and will be re-evaluated within a week. While the team didn't give the exact time for his return, it would be based on the recovery response from his first muscle strain in his career, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.

Warriors head coach Steve Cole said Wednesday: "I think you can face the game one by one." "We can't...I know there's three days off between Game 5 and Game 6, and everyone is saying maybe those three days (maybe Curry is back)... We can't think about that anymore.

"I mean Stephen will be back when it's time to come back. We only focus on tomorrow's game and start from there. ”

Curry was injured in the second quarter of the first game of the Warriors' victory 99-88. With 8 minutes and 48 left in the second quarter, he scored on the 14-foot-high Flyer, and he could be seen grabbing his left leg. He signaled for a substitute, but before the end of the game, he stayed for 29 seconds. Curry then walked straight into the locker room and was quickly left out, scoring 13 points in 13 minutes.

There is only one day off between each game from Game 1 to Game 5, and Curry will miss at least the fourth game on Monday. Game 14 on May 14 may be eight days after his injury. Then there is three days off before the possible sixth game on May 18, and the seventh game will be played on May 20.

Cole said: "We are in that room now discussing how we will deal with this." "What will the lineup look like. This is all part of it. Every year, the playoffs are about adjusting the game plan, injury or lineup. We just need to adapt. We have done this before, and we are confident that we can do it again. ”

Warriors had 9-3 in 12 games in the playoffs without Curry. But this will be the first time since the first game against the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2018 Western Conference Semi-Finals against the New Orleans Pelicans, when he was sitting outside with a knee injury. In the 12 playoffs without Curry, the Warriors had Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Kevin Durant played six games.

"I think the difference back then was that we had a historic NBA roster," Cole said after the Warriors won the first game. "So those days, we were well prepared to handle Stephen's losses.

"...but it's a lesson, I mean, you have to understand what it takes to win a game without your best player." (The First Game) illustrates this very well. ”

Cole said he didn't need to give the team a "Steve's speech to win" before the second game, and the Warriors would feel the importance of Curry to the team.

"It's taken for granted," said Cole. "Everyone loves and respects Stephen very much, and he's the reason for this game. I mean there are a lot of contributions, I want to say the same thing about Draymond and Clay, there are a lot of key people who have pushed this. But it's the whole thing about Stephen. He's like Tim Duncan of San Antonio's Michael Jordan of Chicago. None of this would have happened without Stephen, everyone knows it. The whole team understands...this will happen to itself. Those who want to do it for him. No one would say that. "Winning the first game gave the Warriors more confidence that they could do it again without Curry. Kerr mentioned the team's elite defense, who gave Houston 89 points in Game 7 and Minnesota 88 points in Game 1. "We know what he did," defender Brandin Podzimski said of Curry on Wednesday. "He has done a lot for our team this year, and over the years, he has done a lot for this group. We know we support him and he supports us.

"We will give our all, and we know that no matter who is on the court, we can win."