In all honesty, we knew this was coming.

After his injury suffered a few weeks back against the Celtics, it was confirmed today that Steph Curry is out for the rest of the regular season. He’s made progress on the injury, however, and is assumed to get court work going again within the next week. He’s set to be reevaluated on April 11th, just a day after the end of the regular season.

Curry has suffered plenty of injuries before, and one thing that’s never really suffered as a result of missing time has been his conditioning. Many wouldn’t consider him an NBA iron man in the same sense that Kevon Looney is, playing all 82 games in a season, but his durability and ability to return from extended time off is nonetheless impressive.

Curry hasn’t been a full practice participant yet most obviously because the team needs him to be fully healthy for the postseason. He has, however, looked to be moving well enough without a limping gait or a boot to support the ligament sprain in his foot:

As mentioned in the press release, Steph’s conditioning is on track to get him back to that same health.

The Warriors are sliding a bit in the standings due to Curry’s absence, but they’ve still managed to get up for big games against Miami and Phoenix, winning against the Heat but losing a close one to the Suns despite 38 points for Jordan Poole. Poole has assumed some Curry-esque responsibilities in the 2-time MVP’s absence, and his elevated play is a light in a dark final stretch of the season.

Golden State will play the Jazz, Kings, Lakers, Spurs, and Pelicans to close out the regular season. As of now, they are currently tied in the standings with the Dallas Mavericks, but the Mavs own the tiebreaker so the Warriors are the 4th seed. They would play Utah in the first round, which would probably be one of their easier potential matchups, assuming the Jazz win more than the Nuggets do.

At this point, it’s basically impossible for the Dubs to slide into the play-in, meaning one win would secure a first-round run at least. Having that kind of security gives Curry more time to recover and return at full strength, and despite playing good basketball in stretches, it’s obvious how much this team needs him if they want a shot at the title.

(Photo credit: Eric Gay / Associated Press)