Although the Golden State Warriors have thrived in Stephen Curry’s absence, his presence later in their playoff run will most likely be necessary if the team expects to win their third title in four years.

Nursing a Grade-2 MCL sprain, the former two-time NBA MVP has been unable to play since teammate JaVale McGee awkwardly fell backwards and collided with his knee a few weeks ago. In his absence, the second-seeded Warriors struggled at the end of the regular season, but have still managed to get ahead to a 3-0 series lead against the seventh-seeded San Antonio Spurs.

Curry averaged 26.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 32.0 minutes per contest this season. But, he was limited to just 51 regular-season contests due to various injuries.

Over the weekend, it was announced that Curry would add more running and lateral movement to his rehab and would be re-evaluated in a week’s time.

However, on Thursday, a new development arose.

“According to multiple sources, Curry is still not close to playing,” Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic reported. “Despite video of him doing work on the court, which has fans salivating about his return, he isn’t in the final stages of his rehabilitation. He will be evaluated on Friday. He is on schedule but not on pace to beat the announced timelines. The working parameters have been 4 to 6 weeks since JaVale McGee crashed into Curry’s left knee.”

He added, “This time, he suffered a Grade 2 sprain on March 23 in that McGee collison. Friday will make four weeks since the injury. It is looking as if the ligament will need a full six weeks to heal. That six-week point would be May 4. That could mean it’s more realistic for Curry, who no doubt is desperate to return to action, to return for Game 3 of the next round — especially if you factor in the Warriors’ usual cautiousness.”

Assuming that the Warriors take care of business in Game 4 against the Spurs and they also cruise through the first couple games of the next round, they might decide to hold him out completely until the presumed conference final matchup against the Houston Rockets. More than anything, Golden State's success despite Curry's injury highlights the luxury of having fellow All-Stars Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green on the roster.

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