Steph Curry officially out for Game 5

In news that should surprise no one, Curry’s Grade 1 hamstring strain hasn’t healed enough for him to play in Wednesday’s elimination game in Minneapolis.

It was always going to be a long shot that Steph Curry’s hamstring evaluation would clear him for a return in Wednesday’s Game 5. The Golden State Warriors dispensed with the suspense, announcing Tuesday that their star would not play in Minneapolis in Game 5.

Even before the Warriors listed Curry as out on the injury report, it seemed unlikely he would play. After the game, Draymond Green said that he and his teammates didn’t want to Warriors to push Curry to return too soon, claiming “We don’t need Superman.”

The team does need Superman, or they need to find a way to win without Curry, after three games where they struggled to score consistently against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and especially to make three-pointers, without the all-time three-point leader. Adding Jonathan Kuminga to the starting lineup has helped, but the Warriors have had trouble getting consistent scoring out of others.

But playing Curry isn’t an option, even if the team wanted to be risky with his health in rushing him back. With a hamstring strain, even if Curry was willing to risk further damage to his leg, it’s likely he still can’t run just a week after his initial injury. He suggested as much himself when he heard Green’s comments Monday night.

We may learn more about Curry’s hamstring health after his evaluation Wednesday. There’s even a chance, albeit slim, that Curry could be cleared to return after the three-day break between Game 5 and Game 6, scheduled for Sunday to accommodate the Golden State Valkyries’ season opener Friday night. And we may learn more about Steve Kerr’s strategies for Game 5, as he’s running out of players to bench at this point and Pat Spencer might fight a ref if he’s out on the court too long.

But as Anthony Edwards correctly guessed, the plan is still to get to Game 6 and hope to get “Wardell” back.