NBA insider sounds curtain call for Steph Curry's time as title contender in Golden State

When the Golden State Warriors take the floor at the Target Center tonight for Game 5 of their second-round series, they will once again be without Steph Curry. After injuring his hamstring in Game 1, Curry was ruled out for a week, with the team planning to re-evaluate him ahead of Game 5.

While there initially had been a slight chance that Curry could return, based on the latest report from Marc Spears, Golden State will be without their future Hall of Famer tonight.

The way Stephen A. Smith sees things, with Curry ruled out, and Golden State down 3-1 to the Timberwolves, we've likely seen the last of Curry's time as a championship contender.

During Wednesday's installment of last take, Smith spoke with Udonis Haslem and Mad Dog Chris Russo about Curry winning his last title, saying:

"There's too much resistance in the Western Conference for Golden State to overcome, I think we've seen the last of Steph Curry as a champion in Golden State."

As Smith went on to explain, unless Golden State can go out and acquire a superstar-level talent, their time as championship contenders has come and gone.

Looking at the latest surrounding Steph Curry's return ahead of a pivotal Game 5

As Anthony Edwards told Gary Payton II during Game 3 of the Warriors-Timberwolves series, Golden State's plan is to try and extend the series as much as possible.

Despite that, with Steph Curry on the sidelines, Golden State has its back against the wall heading into Game 5 tonight. If the team comes up short, they will be eliminated from the playoffs, closing the book on any sort of heroic comeback.

If they win, however, Steph Curry will have an additional four days to recover between Games 5 and 6, giving fans hope that he could make a triumphant return at the Chase Center on Sunday.

According to a report from Andscape's Marc J. Spears on Monday, Curry said:

"Even if I wanted to be Superman, I couldn't."

The quote seemed to be in reference to Draymond Green indicating that the team doesn't want Curry to "Superman it" and try to return early.

Ahead of Game 5 tonight, there's been no talk of his potential status for Game 6, given that the team is simply taking things one game at a time.