Stephen Curry sidelined with knee soreness, reportedly has sprain in right knee
According to a report by The Athletic reporter Shams Charania, Warriors first brother Stephen Curry has confirmed that he will miss the mid-season championship against the Timberwolves at 11 a.m. Taiwan time today due to knee pain.
According to sources, Curry fell and injured his right knee during an offense in the final quarter of the Warriors’ last game against the Timberwolves. Charania pointed out that Curry’s right knee was sprained and the recovery time is still unclear. Although this injury will not take Curry off the battle line for too long, it still needs to wait for further examination and evaluation.
The 35-year-old Curry averaged 30.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 11 games this season, shooting 48.8% from the field and 44.6% from three-point range. Curry is the only Warriors player to score more than 20 points in a single game this season. His absence is undoubtedly a big blow to the Warriors, who have 6 wins and 5 losses.
The Warriors don’t expect him to miss too much time, but given Curry’s importance to everything Golden State does on offense, losing him for even just a game is a significant loss. Curry currently ranks third in the league in points per game (30.7), and Golden State’s offense falls completely flat when he’s not on the floor. With Curry in the lineup the Warriors have a 116.2 offensive rating, that falls to 111.5 when he’s on the bench, which would rank 18th in the league.
To make matters worse, outside of Curry no one else on the Warriors has scored more than 20 points this season in a single game. So to say the Warriors are going to miss Curry is an extreme understatement.
Curry’s absence could mean we’ll see Chris Paul elevated to the starting lineup. Paul has played in every game this season for Golden State, but he’s shooting a career low 36.8% from the field. His 8.2 points is also a career-low for the veteran guard, but his scoring was expected to take a dip as he adjusted to a new role on the Warriors. With Curry out, the Warriors will need Paul to step up in his absence, both as a facilitator and scorer. The same goes for Klay Thompson, who is also out to a slow start from an efficiency standpoint. By career standards for Thompson, his 3-point shooting hasn’t been what we’re used to from him. Thompson is shooting 34.7% from deep, and his 42.6% from the field is the second-worst of his career.
The Warriors will have to hope that guys like Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins can step up, but more importantly they’ll also have to hope that Curry doesn’t miss too much time. At 6-5 in a crowded Western Conference, teams can’t afford to go on a big losing streak, because it could be the difference between securing a top-6 spot for the playoffs, or going through the play-in to earn a postseason berth.
