It seems like everything that could have gone wrong for the Golden State Warriors this season has gone wrong. Then again, the ceiling never seemed particularly high during the regular season for the Warriors entering the 2025-26 season, especially since this older, experienced team, still led by Stephen Curry, was built to compete in the playoffs.
The only problem is that to compete in the playoffs, you have to actually make the playoffs. This franchise has played no more than six games above .500 all season, and time is quickly running out to make anything happen this season.
Durability and health have been the biggest challenges facing Golden State this year, and nothing has been easy for them since Jimmy Butler tore his ACL on January 19.
After Butler opted out of the season, a series of injuries and unfortunate events developed for the Warriors.
It seems like Draymond Green, Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton are each on a strict rest regimen, especially when it comes to back-to-backs, and six games after Butler went down for the season, Curry found himself on the injured list.
At first, it did not appear that Curry’s injury was that serious, as he injured his right knee on January 30 against the Detroit Pistons and limped from the court to the locker room. The good news for the Warriors is that there was nothing structurally wrong with Steph’s knee, and the team considered him day-to-day and likely to rest him 100 percent through the All-Star break for the stretch run of the season.
Now more than four weeks have passed, and Curry has yet to resume full basketball activities. Although the team is downplaying the severity of this long-standing knee issue, the truth is that the team is rapidly declining and appears to be stuck in the Western Conference standings.
Now 31-30 on the season and on the verge of falling below .500 for the first time since mid-December, the Warriors are destined to miss the play-in tournament for the third straight year.
With Steph, it will be a tall effort for Golden State to overcome a 5.5-game deficit and claim the 6-seed in the West standings with 21 games remaining. Without Steph, it’s hard to imagine the Dubs falling out of the play-in zone altogether, especially considering that the bottom five teams in the West standings are all tanking and have no intention of winning any more games this year.
The Warriors are once again stuck in limbo at the moment, which has raised big questions about what the rest of this season will look like, including what happens with Curry over the final six weeks of the regular season.
Does Steph Curry’s return even matter?
Since Curry’s knee injury, which is being labeled as patella-femoral pain syndrome and a right knee bone bruise, the Warriors have lost seven of their last 11 games. Wins over Phoenix and Denver during this span seem like nothing more than blips in the metrics, as blowout losses and fourth-quarter collapses have been Golden State’s story without Steph.
The bottom line is that this organization cannot have success without Curry, especially since Butler is not there to lead the team. Any team that loses its two All-Star players is destined to sink, and that’s what happened with the Warriors.
Given their position in the West standings, the Warriors have no reason to recall Curry.
Whether they finish seventh or tenth in the standings, Golden State will still need a win in the play-in tournament to secure a playoff spot. And even if they make the playoffs, a date with the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs may be waiting for them.
There’s a big decision coming up for the Warriors, and it revolves around bringing Steph back during the remainder of the regular season.
Obviously, he needs to stay healthy and feel 100 percent first.
While the expectation was that Curry would return to the court after the All-Star break, the reality of his situation is that he was still dealing with right knee discomfort, which led to more rest and the Warriors performing more imaging on his knee, which came back clear. Although he’s doing very little work behind the scenes, Steph still undergoes a full, comprehensive workout on the court.
Many people forget that Steph turns 38 on March 14, and he has played 1,065 career games, 1,220 if you include the playoffs, and even more if you include his Olympics and other ventures. All of these advantages stack up for a player like him, especially when you consider that Curry runs more actual miles on the court every season than any other player.
Rest is essential when these types of injuries occur, which is why fighters are operating with utmost caution. Nevertheless, sources continue to tell ClutchPoints that if the playoffs started today, Steph would continue to receive treatment around the clock and would not want to miss those games for the Dubs.
At this point, all that matters for Curry and the Warriors is the playoffs. If they are healthy come time to play in the postseason, Steve Kerr, Draymond Green and this team understand that they can really beat any team in a seven-game series. Whether it’s a rising threat like the Spurs or the reigning NBA champion Thunder, the Warriors, whether you believe in them or not, really believe they can win.
The main reason is what No. 30 can do on the court when healthy.
It will be important for Steph to be available for the play-in tournament, as this will ensure he is 100 percent healthy for whoever they face in the first round playoff series.
That’s why there’s no rush to get him back, and that’s why sources say he’ll be back as soon as possible, but he’s unlikely to return until after this date, the beginning of the Warriors’ six-game road trip against the New York Knicks on Sunday, March 15.
To be completely honest, it might be in the Warriors and Curry’s best interest to put things off indefinitely until after this road trip, as seven of the Dubs’ final 10 games of the season will be in San Francisco. The Warriors have time on their hands as they aren’t moving anywhere in the play-in standings, which is why Steph’s return doesn’t really make sense right now.
As of right now, there have been no conversations about the Warriors ruling Curry out for the remainder of the season, and sources said, he specifically wants to return before the playoffs to try to build some momentum for this team.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, they are unable to get any positive momentum going due to all the injury issues that exist with Curry.
It was only a matter of time before the Warriors traded Jonathan Kuminga this offseason, and they eventually pulled the trigger on a deal sending him and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks for Kristaps Porzingis. It’s been almost four weeks since this trade and it has been completely one-sided in the Hawks’ favor.
While the idea of putting Porzingis on the court next to Curry, Green and others is exactly what the Warriors needed at the center position, the reality is that nothing has changed regarding the big man’s health. Porzingis told The Athletic in October that he was diagnosed with POTS, a chronic blood circulation disorder characterized by an abnormal, rapid increase in heart rate.
This is something that Porzingis has struggled with consistently over the past year and a half and it has had a serious impact on his career. Since the start of the 2024-25 season, the Latvian big man has played just 60 games as a result.
After playing against the Boston Celtics on February 19 and making his Warriors debut, Porzingis has missed five consecutive games and may not travel with the team for their upcoming three-game road trip. On Monday, Kerr told reporters the big man’s illness was “mysterious” and there was no timeline for when he would return.
Porzingis has been away from the team and hasn’t practiced since playing nearly two weeks ago.
What happens next for Porzingis and the Warriors is a mystery. The team’s vice president of player health and performance Rick Celebrini and his staff are apparently continuing to work with the former star big man to get his health under control, but there is no clear answer as to when or if Porzingis will return this season.
The only good news for Golden State is that Porzingis is in the final year of his contract and will cost the team $30.7 million entering the offseason. However, Porzingis walking away in the offseason and seeing few contributions the rest of the season would be a huge loss for this organization.
For the Warriors to have any chance at postseason success, with or without Curry available, they will need Porzingis on the court. At present, this does not appear to be a viable option.
Injuries among warriors continue to increase
Curry hasn’t played in over a month, and Porzingis’ status remains in question due to his illness. Those aren’t the only two injury situations the Warriors are dealing with late in the season.
Seth Curry has barely been available for the Dubs due to ongoing sciatica problems, and rookie Will Richard, who has made an impact in a number of ways this season, suffered a mild right ankle sprain during Saturday’s 129-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Although Richard was recently seen in a walking boot, the team is labeling him as “day-to-day” and he could play during their upcoming three-game road trip starting Thursday.
Gary Payton II’s left ankle problem aggravated before Monday night’s game against the LA Clippers, resulting in him missing the game, and starting wing Moses Moody suffered right wrist and shoulder injuries in the team’s 114–101 loss against the Clippers. There was no word on the severity of these injuries or whether Moody will be forced to miss any more time.
The Warriors can’t easily get a break this season, and half their roster is currently dealing with some kind of illness. With a month left in the regular season and this team stuck in the play-in, there’s really nothing Golden State can do.
This organization isn’t one to just give up and give up on a season, even if that’s what their fans would like to see at this point. Kerr is coaching this team as if they are at full strength, and the Warriors are just dealing with what they have, trying to win every night.
While times are tough for Golden State and injury concerns continue to grow, this franchise still has hope. And hopefully Curry, Porzingis and everyone else can get healthy by the end of the regular season and head into the play-in tournament to give the Warriors a chance.
After all, no one in the league will want to face Curry and the Warriors in the playoffs, assuming they are healthy.
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