Stephen Curry out for at least a week as Warriors playoff nightmare unfolds

It might be panic time in Golden State as star guard Stephen Curry is reportedly slated to miss the next week.After suffering what is being described as a Grade 1 hamstring strain, Curry missed the end of the Warriors’ Game 1 upset win over the Timberwolves and is likely to miss at least the next two games — perhaps more.ESPN reports that this is the first soft tissue injury of Curry’s career, so there is uncertainty surrounding the timeline.Curry came up lame on his left hamstring with eight minutes left in the second quarter and did not return, although Draymond Green explained what happened to his longtime teammate.“I didn’t see what happened, I just saw him grab his hamstring and limping a bit, so I walked over to him as he was walking towards the locker room and I said ‘you good?’ and he was like ‘I’ll be back’ and he just kept pushing,” Green said after the game.

“We didn’t really know what was going on for a while…then they finally told us it was a hamstring, a little deflating, but he did a great job of helping us build a comfortable lead.”At the time of Curry’s injury, Golden State led 30-20 en route to a 99-88 win, as the Timberwolves’ horrific shooting continued throughout the game.Minnesota shot 5-for-29 from 3-point range in the game as the Warriors flexed their defensive muscle.With the Warriors set to be without their star player, Golden State will look to trade deadline acquisition Jimmy Butler to lead the offense alongside guard Buddy Hield.Hield led the Warriors in scoring each of their last two playoff games, including 33 in Game 7 against the Rockets.After the game, the four-time NBA champion Green encouraged his teammates to remain calm without Curry.Green suspects that Butler will take the lead going forward for the Warriors’ offense and, hopefully for them, reignite the “Playoff Jimmy” that buoyed Miami for years.“We know what Jimmy’s capable of, Jimmy’s capable of carrying a team, he carried a ...