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Should Steph Curry Play Game 4?

By Carlos Murillo

Apr 18, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) stands on the court during warm ups before the start of the game against the Houston Rockets in game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 18, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) stands on the court during warm ups before the start of the game against the Houston Rockets in game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Warriors dropped Game 3 without Steph Curry. Should he play Game 4?

It took a James Harden stepback jumper with two seconds left for the Houston Rockets to finally beat the Golden State Warriors. One that shouldn’t have counted, according to the NBA, because he pushed off on Andre Iguodala.

The Warriors still lead the series 2-1 and will look to win a third game on Sunday. Golden State has been without Stephen Curry for two games. He injured his ankle in Game 1, playing less than twenty minutes. After getting sent to the locker room and returning to the floor, he tried to plead with the coaching staff to let him get back on the floor. Curry asked Luke Walton and Jarron Collins to convince head coach Steve Kerr to let him play, but he wouldn’t budge. The MVP said it was like a kid being in “timeout.”

The Warriors had a few days in between games. Curry’s MRI didn’t show any serious damage. Over the last few days, he’s done more and more as he continues to gain strength in his ankle. He sat out the second game and Klay Thompson led the way with 34 points, propelling the Warriors to victory. On Wednesday before Game 3, Curry told reporters that he wouldn’t have been able to play if the game was that day. He was listed as questionable for the third game and, reportedly, tried to talk his way into playing.

Kerr wasn’t having it.

So he held the MVP out of Game 3 and paid the price. Thompson and Draymond Green had horrible games as the offense struggled to get anything going without the most dominant offensive force in the league. The Warriors were able to hang around largely in part due to clutch baskets from Marreese Speights and Ian Clark.

Can the Warriors afford to sit Curry out another game?

If he’s mostly pain-free and can do the things he wants to do in practice, he should play. The Warriors don’t want this series going anything longer. There’s so such thing as a guaranteed win in basketball, but the Rockets aren’t even on the same planet as the Warriors with Curry playing.

The Warriors had a chance to really take control of the series, but they gave Harden and the Rockets a small glimmer of hope. The Los Angeles Clippers look like they’ll probably sweep the overmatched Portland Trailblazers. The Warriors don’t want to exert more energy than they have to, especially not in the first round against a .500 team.

The Warriors need the MVP back. I’m not sure the Warriors can afford to keep him out any longer. Not because the Warriors are in real danger of losing the series, but they need to get it over with as soon as possible. Curry said he’d be surprised if he didn’t play in Game 4 so expect him to go, even if Kerr puts some sort of minutes restriction on him.

Even a little bit of Curry makes a huge difference.

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