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Stephen Curry Injury Impact: Warriors vs Blazers Game 4
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The Golden State Warriors listed Stephen Curry, who is reportedly set to be announced as the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the second straight season, as doubtful for Game Four of their best-of-seven series against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. Curry has been out due to a sprained knee, but he appears to be nearing a return to the court.
So, what's an MVP worth?
AccuScore puts its super computer to work to figure out exactly how important a single player of Curry's caliber is at this stage in the postseason. AccuScore played out 10,000 simulated games based on hundreds of statistical inputs with Curry in the lineup and then repeated the exercise with Curry out of the lineup. So, what is the now two-time MVP worth?
With Curry healthy and playing, the Warriors are 52.4% favorites to win Game Four, according to the computer. Without their star player, the Warriors drop to 44.3% to win the crucial away game. That's a massive swing based on one player. With a win on Monday, the Warriors can go home and would be heavy favorites to close out the series in Game Five with or without Curry. With a loss on Monday, Golden State could be in for a six or seven-game series. Considering the Warriors are without the best player in the NBA and on the road, being three-point underdogs is hardly an insult. Instead, it speaks to Golden State's depth and overall talent. However, with Curry, they would be outright favorites.
Let's just say the point guard's 30.1 points, 6.7 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game will be sorely missed, and the Warriors would not have been able to pull off a records 73-win season with the 28-year-old sidelined. More than likely, Curry will return for Game Five, and his presence should be the difference in Game Six on the road, if the series goes that long.
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