The Warriors will enter the playoffs shorthanded as they will be without the services of Steph Curry for at least the beginning of their first round series.
Coach Steve Kerr told the media on Sunday that there was “no way” his star point guard would play in the first round, while Curry himself was less willing to accept a timetable that kept him out through that entire series. That’s the approach both should be taking to this situation, with Curry wanting to do everything in his power to get back on the floor and Kerr doing what he can to alleviate expectations on him to rush back and preparing for the challenge of playing without the two-time MVP.
In any case, the Warriors will be without Curry for the remainder of the regular season and the start of the postseason, with the actual timetable for his return still to be determined. Kerr is rightfully doing everything he can to be ready for not having Curry for an entire first round series and possibly beyond, but that hasn’t diminished his confidence one bit.
As Kerr told reporters on Monday, the 2016 postseason gives him plenty of reason to believe this team can do more than just survive without Curry, as they did so in the playoffs before and now they have Kevin Durant on the team.
The obvious message from Steve Kerr today: Confidence.
"Regular season or playoffs, we can beat anybody without Steph."
The full quote pic.twitter.com/hLuPM9Aeze— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 26, 2018
It shouldn’t be a surprise Kerr is this confident and aside from the Rockets, there are probably not any opponents a Curry-less Warriors team would be underdogs against in Vegas for a series. The bigger concern for Golden State right now is that their other three All-Stars are banged up as well. Durant has a rib injury, Klay Thompson has a broken finger on his shooting hand and Draymond Green has dealt with a pelvic contusion and an illness that’s kept him out recently.
If those three come back at full strength for the playoffs, Kerr is right to be confident in his group whether Curry is there or not. Durant is more than capable of taking over as the undisputed top option and they have plenty of firepower around him to make it work. If health is an issue for one or more of those three, depending on the matchup in the first round, the Warriors could find themselves in something of a spot of bother.
