Steve Kerr is confident the Warriors can with without Stephen Curry. Not just in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, which Curry is likely to miss, but in any round, against anybody.
“Frankly, I don’t need solace,” Kerr told reporters on Monday. “I watched this team two years ago without Kevin (Durant) win playoff games without Steph. We beat Houston in the first round and Steph missed four games. Played part of Game 1 and part of Game 4. Missed most of the series and we won in five. Then we played Portland in the next round and we won the first two games without him. So we know — and that team was different than now, but we didn’t have Kevin Durant. So we’re perfectly capable of beating anybody — regular season or playoffs — we can beat anybody without Steph.”
Unfortunately, the Warriors currently aren’t just without Steph, but also without their three other All-Stars in Durant, Thompson and Green. All three are supposed to be back soon, and well before the start of the postseason on April 14. As long as that goes according to plan, Kerr believes a healthy Warriors team sans Curry is still capable of knocking off the league’s best.
“It’s going to be hard to beat anybody without Steph, KD, Klay and Draymond,” Kerr said. “I’m going to have to coach a lot better for that to happen. But we’re very confident that we’ll get these three guys back soon and we’ll hold down the fort. And then some. I think we’ll be able to put something together and really build some momentum. Then the plan would be, at some point, to get Steph back and we’ll really get a boost. Then now we’re rolling.”
Curry is scheduled to be re-evaluated three weeks from last Saturday, on April 14, but the timetable for a Grade 2 MCL sprain is typically between 4-6 weeks, throwing his ability to return for the first round in doubt. Kerr was explicit that Curry would not be ready by that time, telling reporters on Sunday that, “there’s no way he’s playing in the first round.”
Unsurprisingly, Curry was more optimistic.
“Hopefully I prove coach wrong.”