Heading into Game 2, the Golden State Warriors have a screaming void. An irreplaceable gap that no one can fill. But they need to brace for life with Stephen Curry. The Baby-Faced Assassin’s Grade 1 Hamstring sprain will keep him away, but that shouldn’t stop the Dubs from doing what they do best. Winning. And right before the second game, head coach Steve Kerr is lamenting the loss.

When Steph left the court at Target Center on Tuesday, no one understood the seriousness of the matter. Sure, the star was suffering from a thumb injury, but holding his hamstring like that? Soon, reports said that a Grade 1 injury will keep him away from at least a week, pushing him out till Game 4. But as the saying goes: “You can take the man out of the city, but never the city out of the man.”

This morning, Curry was at Target Center all toothy and smiling with a ball in his hand. Guess what he was doing? He may have been shooting some buckets. Stephen Curry joined the shootaround, but the Warriors have ruled him out of Game 2.

So, even as he smiles, Steve Kerr still carries his worries. However, Curry standing on the court, even if he’s not practicing, gives hope to the Dub Nation. Meanwhile, the head coach may just know what led to his superstar’s Grade 1 injury. It seems that playing him for 40+ minutes didn’t work out well.

Steve Kerr is in despair as he underlines the error that possibly led to Stephen Curry’s injury

The Golden State Warriors have included Steph Curry in every playoff run for the past 16 years. But they must manage without him this time. Not having their biggest superstar on the floor means a different kind of strategy on both ends. Offensively, the team has to step up with Jimmy Butler and Buddy Hield in the mix. But the defense, well, that needs to be an impermeable wall. Meanwhile, speaking on 95.7 The Game, the 59-year-old coach pointed out something.

“If you’re in a series, if you want to advance, if you want to survive and advance, then what are you gonna do? Play Steph 32 minutes and lose a game? You really gotta do what you gotta do to advance. But you’re well aware that the heavy minutes can take a toll,” Steve Kerr said. Stephen Curry played 46 minutes vs. the Rockets in Game 7. And maybe, just maybe, all that paved the way for the hamstring injury.

The head coach added: “I don’t think there’s any question that going seven against Houston, and the nature of that series, the physicality, the heavy minutes for Steph—yeah, it took a toll. But the alternative is you play him way less, and you lose the series against Houston. Then everybody says, ‘What the hell are you doing not playing Steph?’ I mean, it’s not really like a dilemma at all. It’s just reality.”

Earlier in the season, many asked what and why Kerr restricted Curry’s minutes. However, heading into the playoffs, those time constraints left through the window.

So here we are. Stephen Curry is smiling while Steve Kerr is stressing. And the Dubs? They are adjusting to the new normal. One moment, it’s 46 magical minutes. Next, it’s a sprained hamstring vs. the Timberwolves. Still, hope refuses to sit out. Curry showed up, ball in hand, heart on sleeve. Maybe not for Game 2, but maybe for something. After all, legends don’t rest. They reload.