On Sunday night, the Golden State Warriors fell 110-115 to the Los Angeles Clippers in what was supposed to be just another late-season game. Two nights later, the stakes could not be higher: the same two teams will clash in a single-elimination Play-In contest with the season on the line.
It has been a brutal year for Stephen Curry and the Warriors—one that began with genuine championship aspirations but has been defined by devastating injuries and a desperate scramble just to stay alive. After acquiring Jimmy Butler at the February trade deadline, Golden State looked poised for a deep playoff run. Many believed the team might have advanced past the Minnesota Timberwolves in last year’s second round had Curry not been sidelined. This season was meant to be different.
Instead, injuries delivered back-to-back gut punches. Butler and Curry went down within two weeks of each other in the same month—Butler facing a long ACL rehabilitation, Curry beginning a two-plus-month shutdown after a runner’s knee injury that cost him 27 straight games. The Warriors have fought through it, but they enter Wednesday’s winner-take-all matchup in Inglewood as an 8-games-below-.500 team that must win two Play-In games simply to earn a first-round date with the defending champions.
Now, with everything on the line, the Warriors have made a critical call on their 38-year-old superstar.
Warriors Commit to Key Steph Curry Decision for Play-In Game
Curry has appeared in just four games since returning from the lengthy layoff. For a player of his age coming off such an extended absence, the ramp-up has been cautious. In Sunday’s loss to the Clippers, he logged 29 minutes—his highest total since returning the previous Sunday against the Houston Rockets.
According to team insider Anthony Slater, Golden State is prepared to push Curry harder for the Play-In. Head coach Steve Kerr told reporters he believes Curry can stretch to at least 30 minutes Wednesday night “and hopefully more.” Kerr added that Curry will not be asked to play 40 minutes, but the superstar himself indicated Friday that he expects to exceed the initial plan.
The decision is pragmatic. The Warriors cannot afford to play it safe if they want any realistic chance of beating a competitive Clippers squad on the road. Yet it also carries risk: an aging star asked to carry a heavy load after missing more than two months of basketball.
Does He Have Another Superman Performance in Him?
Because that is exactly what Golden State will need.
At 38 and in his 17th NBA season, Curry has already shouldered an enormous burden this year. The Warriors are not the same explosive team that dominated the league for a decade; they are a veteran group fighting for survival. Without the home-court energy of Chase Center, Curry will have to deliver a vintage “Steph-tastic” performance—creating shots, making defenders pay from deep, and elevating teammates who have struggled to find consistency without him.
The Clippers, fresh off beating Golden State just days ago, will be physical, confident, and motivated to end the Warriors’ season on their home floor. Golden State’s margin for error is razor-thin.
Still, the organization is betting that Curry’s competitive fire and the extra minutes will be enough to tilt the outcome. Whether 30-plus minutes proves to be the right call—or one that asks too much of a 38-year-old recovering from a significant knee injury—will be answered Wednesday night under the bright lights of Intuit Dome.
For a franchise that has built its modern identity on Curry’s brilliance, this Play-In game represents one last stand. The Warriors have the opportunity to rewrite a painful season, but it will require their greatest player to once again find something extra when the stakes are at their absolute highest.