The NBA can be cruel sometimes when it comes to injuries. Before this week, the Golden State Warriors hadn’t had their full rotation healthy and on the court together since November. With Andrew Wiggins returning a few games ago, it was finally complete again.
Alas, it only lasted for a few games, as the team could now be without star point guard Stephen Curry. Curry was injured late in their game on Thursday night against the Chicago Bulls. With 3:51 remaining in the fourth quarter, Curry rolled his right ankle.
He attempted to walk it off, but head coach Steve Kerr opted to sub him out instead. He did not return to the game and Kerr didn’t have any updates on him after the 125-122 loss, other than his foot was in an ice bath in the locker room.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors Updates
Ankle injuries were prevalent for Curry earlier in his career. They kept him sidelined for lengthy periods, but he has been able to get them in check for the most part in years since. But, any time he suffers an ankle injury, there will be some level of concern. His teammates are bracing for him to miss some games.
“I know we’re going to miss him if he does need time off,” Klay Thompson said. “We’ve been in this position before where he has had time off, and we just got to do it collectively. I know he’ll be ready to go when he does come back, whenever that is. We just wish him a speedy recovery.”
Curry has missed only three games thus far this season; two for knee soreness and one for rest. Being without him would be a huge blow to a Warriors team that is looking to move up in the Western Conference standings and avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament.
The loss to the Bulls dropped the Warriors to 33-29 on the season. They are in a virtual tie with the 10th-place Los Angeles Lakers and are now 3.5 games behind the Phoenix Suns, who sit in sixth place, the final spot outside of the NBA Play-In Tournament.
“It sucks, but everybody deals with injuries,” Draymond Green said. “You’ve just got to do the best you can in dealing with it.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors Updates
If Curry is sidelined because of the injury, Kerr will likely turn to Chris Paul as the new starting point guard. That is a luxury not many teams in the NBA have, as Kerr can turn from one future Hall of Famer to another to run his team in the starting lineup.
“We know he is more than capable. He’s Chris Paul,” Green said. “It’s been incredible having C here, but then you have Steph going down — no one is Steph Curry in the NBA. But knowing you are going into the game with a guy who can win you game after game after game, it definitely gives you confidence going in knowing that you are more than capable to win games.”
Golden State plays again on Saturday night against the San Antonio Spurs. After that, they begin a three-game road trip. It will be interesting to see how many if any, of those games Curry misses as every contest is an important one at this point in the season.
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