Preview: Five more games without Curry?

Warriors face Timberwolves, limited roster will have to tread water a bit longer

Earlier this week, the Golden State Warriors provided an update on the injury rehab for Stephen Curry: another 10 days please.

The re-evaluation indicated that Curry continues to make good progress. He has been working out individually on the court in recent days and those workouts, based on his continued progress, will continue to intensify. He will be re-evaluated again in 10 days.

(emphasis added by author)

That’s five games more that can help soothe or inflame the concerns around what this team can do. A strong push here, a timely Curry return? That would certainly feel quite a bit different than limping into the Play-in Tournament as a 9th seed with a rusty superstar expected to summon miracles. Judging by the last couple of games, miracles may indeed be needed.

Pretty much status quo on the injury front. De’Anthony Melton and Quinten Post are both listed as Questionable at time of writing.

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GAME DETAILS

WHO: Golden State Warriors (32-33) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (40-26)

WHEN: Friday, March 13, 2026; 7pm PDT

WATCH: NBCSBA

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Waiting for a superman

Those last two losses hurt. Back-to-back games that were circled on the calendar as potential chances to pick up badly needed wins. Both dropped. Both against rebuilding (dare we say “tanking” teams). That’s the deep sort of pain that really brings us old school fans back to our long and painful history with this franchise.

But we won’t dwell on the lack of shot creation, or what that does to the team’s approach to an offense that frequently ends as a showcase of what not to do.

Call me crazy, but there have been some promising developments, even as the Warriors drop below .500 for the first time in a long time they’ve found a couple of new players that have been able to contribute.

Of course, for maximum comedic value, these two players are the tallest and shortest members of the team.

Kristaps Porzingis is the largest upgrade, both physically, and in regards to basketball impact - so it’s great to see him get back on the court reliable. Those minutes (20 solid minutes against the Bulls, another 23 last Saturday) are one of the reasons that there’s still some semblance of hope left. When Curry does return, those minutes with the stretch big - be it Horford or Porzingis - will open up options that the Warriors coaching staff hasn’t seen in a good long while.

Malevy Leons may be small in stature, but his outside shot has been huge. So huge, that perhaps it is one of the factors contributing to the Warriors not-so-weird-or-sudden love affair with the three ball. Against the Thunder Podz was 3 of 10 from deep, Gui Santos, suddenly freed(?) was 2 for 9 - but admittedly scored a team high 22 points on the night. You don’t need to stare at the tea leaves too long before understanding why a team built like this current iteration of the Warriors would end up playing like this. Uneven. Quirky. Perpetually under-staffed.

Now the team’s on the bottom edge of acceptable outcomes. To simplify: the Warriors are pretty well locked into 9th as their most likely outcome on the season. One spot higher is much preferred. If the Warriors can possibly climb to 8th, it affords them a second chance at survival; 10th is single elimination. Eighth also sets up a much better tail end outcome, landing the Wariors in 7th rather than 8th should they win that initial game.

And remember, the Warriors don’t need to be team destroying forces of dominance. The chase back up to the 8th seed is viable, even given the limitations of what’s left of this roster.

Prediction

The season ends April 12th, just one month left of regular season basketball. If anything, it sure has been a wild ride. Warriors start it here with a tough win.

Music Friday

It’s too on theme to not put this here. Happy Friday everyone!