Warriors face unsparing truth in the absence of Stephen Curry, according to Charles Barkley's blunt assessment
The Golden State Warriors are heading for some rocky battles in the forthcoming games, at least for the short term, as they try to navigate their second-round clash with the Minnesota Timberwolves sans Stephen Curry, who's expected to be out for at least a week due to his hamstring injury he sustained in Game 1. Curry's been the driving force behind the Warriors' offensive juggernaut for eons, and his absence in Game 2 left the team looking like it had been deflated, resulting in a 117-93 drubbing that left Warriors' head coach, Steve Kerr, having to trot out every available player to search for a combination that could work.
The players on the Warriors roster might be NBA-worthy, but throwing the likes of Pat Spencer, Kevin Knox, and Braxton Key into the fire of a playoff game when key players are injured is less than ideal, to say the least.
"Everybody in the NBA can ball," uttered Charles Barkley on TNT's Inside the NBA after the Warriors' Game 2 loss. "But how many players can you give the rock and say, 'Go score a basket for me.' Nobody can do that consistently but Stephen Curry."
In Curry's absence, the Warriors are running short on offensive firepower. They've already been struggling to find points even with Curry in the fray during their series against the Houston Rockets, so one can only imagine just how slim their margin of error is without him.
With Curry sidelined, the Warriors are scrambling for any semblance of an offensive spark. Kerr, who's made it clear in recent weeks that he's not a fan of the Jonathan Kuminga-Jimmy Butler lineup combination, has even been forced to play Kuminga heavy minutes just to generate any offense.
Can the Warriors win without Stephen Curry?
The Warriors should be crossing their fingers and praying to the basketball gods that Curry miraculously recovers from a hamstring injury. They better be!
Role Players Stretched Thin
One Warriors role player struggling under the pressure is Moses Moody. After ending the 2024-25 season as a genuine high-level rotation player, Moody's fallen off a cliff. Not only has he missed his shots, he's been missing them badly, clanging them off the rim or whiffing entirely. He finished 0-5 from the field in Thursday's game.
In Game 2, it was Trayce Jackson-Davis who made his case for more minutes moving forward. Without Curry's perimeter presence, Jackson-Davis at least offers them a lob threat. His involvement in Game 2 restricted Kevon Looney to a pitiful three minutes.
Sources:1. Gold Lengthy Analysis: https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.145802. ABC News: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-26/stephen-curry-golden-state-warriors-out-timberwolves/1010003603. ESPN: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34361352/golden-state-warriors-struggle-offense-stephen-curry-injured
- In the absence of Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors are faced with a daunting task of finding an offensive spark, as they prepare for their playoff games.
- Without the driving force behind their offensive juggernaut, the Warriors might struggle to score points, just as they did during their series against the Houston Rockets.
- In the upcoming games, role players like Moses Moody and Trayce Jackson-Davis might be stretched thin as they try to compensate for Curry's absence.
- The Warriors' head coach, Steve Kerr, might need to rely heavily on rookies and lesser-known players to fill the void left by Curry's injury, raising questions about their ability to win the playoffs without the NBA star.
