The Golden State Warriors plan to play without Stephen Curry for at least the next three games of their series against Minnesota. This is because an MRI scan on Wednesday showed a small injury to the star player's left leg muscle.

The Warriors announced that Curry would be unavailable for a minimum of one week following the injury sustained on Tuesday evening, which led to his premature departure during the second quarter of Game 1, a match they ultimately won with a score of 99-88. In just thirteen minutes of play, he contributed thirteen points, aiding Golden State in establishing a significant lead and seizing the home-court advantage from the Timberwolves.

“In the playoffs each year, the essence is adaptability, be it in strategy, responding to injuries, or altering the lineup, so we must simply adjust,” stated coach Steve Kerr. “We have faced similar challenges before, and we are confident in our ability to overcome this one as well.”

Game 2 takes place in Minneapolis on Thursday, before the series heads west to San Francisco for Game 3 on Saturday and Game 4 on Monday. Curry's earliest potential return seems to be Game 5 on May 14, which is conveniently preceded by three consecutive days off before Game 6 on May 18.

Because Curry usually doesn't have bad hamstring injuries, people are wondering how long he will be away and if the Warriors can keep playing well enough without the best 3-point shooter in NBA history until he might come back late in the series. But it's probably not a good idea for them to count on that happening.

Kerr asserted, "We are confident in possessing the league's premier defense, a fact substantiated over the preceding months."

This Golden State lineup is significantly less formidable than previous iterations, when Curry and Draymond Green were in their prime and key players like Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala were pivotal to their achievements. By 2018, they also boasted Kevin Durant.

At this juncture, the Warriors were experiencing satisfaction with the comprehensive team effort spearheaded by Jimmy Butler, Buddy Hield, and Green in Game 1, a contest in which Kerr deployed a dozen distinct players.

Without Curry, Butler will handle the ball on most plays, just like he did on Tuesday. Butler, who has been an All-Star six times and joined the team from Miami three months ago, helped make the Warriors stronger on offense and defense. In Game 1, he scored 20 points, got 11 rebounds, and made eight assists. He scored 20 or more points in four of the five full games he played in the first round against Houston.

Everyone is ready to play. Everyone who comes into the game wants to make good plays," Timberwolves guard Mike Conley said. "So you have to focus even more on the game, who you are playing against, and what they usually do. This is because they are not just looking for Curry. Buddy and Jimmy will be more aggressive, but they have players who can score, and they might try to do that together as a team.