Sports surgery specialist explains why Steph Curry's left hamstring injury is concerning for Warriors

Steph Curry left Game 1 of the Golden State Warriors' second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second quarter with a lower-body injury. Curry held his left hamstring when he came out of the game and never returned. The Warriors walked out with a 99-88 road win on Tuesday, but an injury to their superstar point guard is concerning.

Steph Curry has been the driving force behind the Warriors' season alongside Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green. The All-Star guard led the team in scoring and put on a show in the fourth quarter of Game 7 to eliminate the Houston Rockets in the first round. He was hounded by Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels throughout his time on the floor in Game 1 against the Timberwolves, but his injury was non-contact.

The fact that he never returned to the game is a cause for concern, according to Dr. Nirav Pandya, the Director of Sports Medicine at UC San Francisco.

"I was hoping that maybe this was just a little bit of a cramp, and they would bring him back out, but the fact that he didn't come back out to the bench and it was a quick diagnosis, is the fact that this is something that they're a little bit more concerned about," said Pandya.

"Most of these are due to overuse and fatigue over a period of time. The number of games leads to a lot of wear and tear and eventually what happens is that the hamstring just fails."

While it is still unclear when Steph Curry will be able to return to the court for the Warriors, his injury could hold him out of several games as the series continues. Hamstring injuries are easy to reaggravate, especially for a player who runs as much as Curry does in each game.

Can Golden State survive against Minnesota without Steph Curry?

Steph Curry is arguably the most important player on the Warriors' roster this postseason. Before his injury, he led his team in scoring in the postseason, and the attention defenses paid to him opened up opportunities for his teammates. Without him, more will be expected from Butler and Buddy Hield.

While the Warriors were able to maintain a double-digit lead from halftime until the end of Game 1, winning without Curry is a tall task. McDaniels, the Timberwolves' point-of-attack defender, will likely shift over to Jimmy Butler, making things much more difficult for him to be effective offensively.

While not having Curry hurts, the Warriors seem to have found a replacement capable of mimicking his shooting, albeit with less efficiency. Hield led the team with 24 points in Game 1, filling in for Curry after he left the game. The former Oklahoma Sooner broke a Game 7 record for 3-pointers made in the first round, and the Warriors hope his hot shooting continues.

Golden State stole home court advantage with a win in Game 1, but all eyes will be on Steph Curry's recovery as the series goes on.